152 Ky. 711 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1913
Opinion of the Court by
Affirming.
Prior to June 28, 1907, William Hudson was.in the employ of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Eailway Company, on its Chattanooga division, as an engineman. Upon that day he was discharged for an infraction of the rules of the company. On September 1, 1911, he brought suit against the company for $2,000, the alleged value of time lost by him during the period between the date of his discharge and December 1, 1908, charging that said sum was due him from the defendant because of its breach of a contract entered into by and between the defendant and the Order of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, of which plaintiff was a member in good standing. The particular covenant upon which he bases his cause of action is as follows: “In case an engineman believes his suspension or discharge unjust he shall within ten days appeal to the superintendent by letter, and if found to “have been unjustly suspended or dismissed, he shall be reinstated and paid for all time lost. The proper officers of the company will at all times listen to any complaint that enginemen as a body or individually may wish to present, and under ordinary circumstances make prompt decision in regard thereto.” It is charged by plaintiff that his dischage was unjust; that he, within ten days thereafter, by letter appealed to the superintendent of defendant, his superior, for an investigation of the charges against him, offering
The allegation relied upon to establish agency of appellant on the part of the officers in the execution of said agreement is, that the contract “was duly signed and executed and delivered by the. duly authorized officers and agents of the defendant company and said Order of Bailroad Enginemen.” If they were the agents of appellant, it is to be inferred only from the fact that appellant was a member of the organization, the agents of which they are admitted to be. Appellant has failed to enlighten us, by averment, as to the objects of the union of which he was a member, as contained in its charter, if a corporation, or in its constitution, if it is an association, or whether the officers referred to were the agents of a local or general union. However, the court knows, as a part of the history of the times, that the Order of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and unions engaged in like efforts, are associations of craftsmen, having for. their objects improved working conditions and resisting, in concert, the unjust exactions of capital. Their purposes are social, not commercial. Permanent improved labor conditions, not temporary contractual relations between individuals and employers, are the commendable objects with which they are engrossed. A labor union, as such, engages in no business enterprise.
In Burnetta v. Marceline Coal Co., 180 Mo., 241, Burnetta, a miner and member of the Miners ’ Union, entered into the service of the Coal Company, and after continuing therein for a short time, voluntarily left the company and sued it for the balance of wages due him. The company admitted the amount charged to be owing him, but denied that it was then due. The workman asserted that the union, of which he was a member, had a contract with the company in which certain pay days were provided .for, and that under this contract the amount owing was due. The court there in disposing of the question as to whether a contract made by a union, in respect to rates and regulations, inured to the benefit of its members said: v
“The Miners’ Union is not an organization for the purpose-of conducting any business enterprise, but is purely one for the protection of labor against the unjust exactions of capital. The members of the union do not labor in coal mines for the organization, but each member works for himself, and whatever compensation he receives is for the benefit of himself and family. That the Miners’ Union, as an organization, cannot make a contract for its individual members in respect to the performance of work and the payment for it, in our opinion, is too clear for discussion.
“While it may be true that a labor organization may have rules requiring the employer to designate a certain pay ’day, and if you employ a member of the organization or even one who is not a member, and by agreement his services are to be paid for on the designated pay*716 days, as established by the rules, it could be well insisted that the contract fixes the time of payment, that is upon the theory that the individual so contracts, and, by no means, upon account of his being a member of the organization which has undertaken to contract for him.
“A contract on the part of an individual that he will perform certain work under the rules of an organization, is not to be inferred from the simple fact that he is a member of the organization. Persons work for themselves and are free and independent. Agreements imposing conditions can only be enforced when the entire proposition has been stated and by them freely accepted.”
In 24 Cyc. the author states the rule as follows:
“A labor union ordinarily has no authority to make a contract with employers of its members in respect to the performance of work and the payment for it. In order to bind the individual members they must exercise assent to the terms of the contract. Such assent will not be implied from the fact that they have knowledge at the time of the contract. It cannot maintain an action to enforce a contract made by it on behalf of its members. Nor is it liable to suit on such a contract, which is enforceable only against .the individual members who are guilty of a breach of it. An individual member of a labor union, not being bound by the terms of the contract made between the union and its employers as to the time of payment of his wages, has a right to sue therefor on the completion of his work, in the absence of any express contract with him.”
Appellant’s name is nowhere mentioned in the agreement under consideration. There is in it no language from which it can be inferred that the officers of the union, in signing said agreement, were acting as the agents of appellant. The fact that they were agents of the union will not justify the inference that they were acting for appellant, a member of the union. It is not contended that he ever ratified the act of said officers. The fact that appellant entered the service of the railway company as engineman, knew of the usages which the company had adopted at the instance of the union, assented to and became bound by them, being a mere incident to the objects of the union, cannot be said to be a ratification. It follows, therefore, that the officers of the union, in the execution of said agreement, were not, and could not be, the agents of appellant.
If appellant, during the time limit provided in said agreement, entered the service of appellee as engineman
"When appellant’s contract of employment with appellee is fairly construed, it is evident that the period of, service is indefinite, and, that being true, either party; had the right to terminate it at any time, for or without cause. L. & N. R. R. Co. v. Offutt, 99 Ky., 427. Appellee, did terminate said contract by the discharge of appellant. His claim is for time lost after the determination of the contract between him and appellee and. all his rightsi thereunder had ceased. The trial court correctly held that his petition stated no cause of action.
Judgment affirmed.