Hardline Electric, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1547

Hardline Electric (Hardline) brought suit under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185 (1976), against IBEW Local 1547 (Union) and some of its members, seeking damages and an injunction for violation of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties. The district court issued an injunction against further strike activity, and awarded damages to Hardline in the amount of $329,768. The court also found the union and one of its members in contempt, and, after trial, awarded costs to Hardline. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1976). We reverse.

I

FACTS

This suit arose out of an alleged wildcat strike by some union members against Hardline, an electrical contractor, in July and August of 1978. The Union and Hardline have a long-standing dispute over the composition of work crews required for safety in “single-phase hot line work,” i.e., work on certain energized electrical transmission lines. Hardline contends that in the summer of 1978, the Union initiated or condoned a wildcat strike designed to force Hardline to adopt the Union’s view that five-man crews are required. The Union denies that there was a strike. It…