Howard Packing Co. v. Meat Cutters & Butchers Workmen

McCOMB, J. On December 7, 1953, plaintiffs Howard Packing Company and Gianni Packing Company filed a complaint in the superior court, Los Angeles County Number 622088, for an injunction against defendant Meat Cutters and Butchers Workmen of America, Local Number 563, and defendants J. J. Rodriguez and Chubby Cornwell, union officers, to restrain picketing activities on the ground that such activities violated the California Jurisdictional Disputes Act. (Lab. Code, §§ 1115-1120.)

Thereafter, an action was filed in the same court, Number 622387, against Howard Packing Company and Gianni Packing Company, and a labor union known as Association of Food Handlers and its executive secretary, Walter J. Schmidt, by six employees who claimed to have been discharged because they had joined the Meat Cutters and Butchers Union of America, Local Number 563. In such action the employees sought to be reinstated to their jobs with back pay, and to have all defendants restrained from interfering with their employment.

Both the above actions were by stipulation consolidated for trial. After trial, before the court without a jury, judgment was rendered in the first action in favor of plaintiffs, enjoining defendants’ picketing activities. In the second action the court gave judgment in favor of defendants, denying plaintiffs any relief.

[395]The appeals by defendants in the first action and plaintiffs in the second action have, by stipulation, been consolidated for determination by this court.

Viewing the evidence pursuant to the rules set forth in Estate of Isenberg, 63 Cal.App.2d 214, 216 [2], et seq. [146 P.2d 424], (see also cases in 6 West’s Cal.Dig. (1951), Appeal and Error, §931(1), p. 423 et seq., and §1001(1), p. 679 et seq.) the record discloses these facts:

Howard Packing Company, Inc., has been canning dog food at its premises at 3328 East 45th Street in Los Angeles, California, since April, 1953, and Gianni Packing Company, Inc., at the same time was operating a slaughter house for the production of horse meat on adjoining premises at 3224 East 45th Street up to October 9, 1953, at which time it terminated all its operations and leased its premises to Mayfair Packing Company.

About the 9th of September, 1953, Arthur Eaton, a business representative of the Meat Cutters and Butchers Workmen of America, called upon Albert Gianni, president and general manager of each of the foregoing companies, and requested him to sign a contract with the Meat Cutters and Butchers Workmen of America. At this time Mr. Gianni told Mr. Eaton that it was not his business to go to the employees; that he had no right to sign a contract until the employees decided what they wanted to do. Subsequently, Mr. Eaton brought a contract to Mr. Gianni, and Mr. Gianni told him to leave it on his desk and he would look it over.