Wisconsin Employment Relations Board v. United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America
Wisconsin Employment Relations Board v. United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America
Opinion of the Court
The Union and its members were on strike against the Kohler Company and had set up a picket line when, on September 1, 1954, the board obtained a circuit court judgment directing the Union, its officers, agents, and
The record establishes very clearly that many pickets representing the Union by force and intimidation interfered with the passage of persons seeking to go to work. This was direct disobedience of the judgment of September 1, 1954. There is no evidence that Burkart, Graskamp, or Konec participated in such obstruction of anyone’s right to work or witnessed any incident or counseled or advised or ordered such behavior by pickets or sympathizers. The board contends that the pickets would not have behaved so without
The trial court found “that Local 833 disobeyed and failed to obey the judgment of this court entered on September 1, 1954, and is, therefore, in contempt of this court.” The executive officers and agents of the Local Union could be held responsible for such failure in the absence of evidence convincing the court of their effort to comply, but the trial court did not so hold them, deeming the evidence insufficient to establish guilt. There is a reasonable inference from their official positions and the obligations and duties of those positions that the officers knew of and approved the conduct of the pickets and permitted violations which they could and should have prevented, but inferences to be drawn from evidence are for the trier of the fact and the trial court did not draw them. We should not substitute our inferences, if we have any, for those which the trial court failed to draw. The appeal of the board should be denied.
The trial court found John Martin and’ 15 other pickets in contempt for violating the judgment of September 1, 1954, by interfering with or obstructing the passage into the plant of people seeking work there. Martin and these others have appealed. Evidence concerning the behavior óf these parties
The record gives abundant support to the trial court’s adjudication of contempt and we would feel compelled to affirm except that the judgment imposed no penalty but, on the contrary, stated:
“3. That the court reserves jurisdiction to impose punishment for said contempt at any time, upon its own motion or the motion of any interested party, without further notice or hearing.”
In Appleton Chair Corp. v. United Brotherhood (1941), 239 Wis. 337, 1 N. W. (2d) 188, a judgment found an employer guilty of contempt but imposed no penalty. We held (p. 343):
“The appeal from the so-called supplementary judgment does not bring the contempt matter before us. The finding of guilty of contempt is not a final sentence of the law pronounced by the court. It is not an appealable order nor is it a final judgment. We find no occasion, therefore, for the exercise at this time of any authority over the so-called contempt proceedings.”
Our mandate dismissed the appeal. The same situation with the same result occurred in Waukesha Roxo Co. v. Gehrz (1943), 244 Wis. 201, 12 N. W. (2d) 41. The question now appears in the same form. The part of the judgment from which the individuals appeal only adjudged them guilty of contempt but reserved jurisdiction in the trial court to take
By the Court. — The part of the judgment from which Wisconsin Employment Relations Board appeals is affirmed. The appeal of the individual pickets from the rest of the judgment is dismissed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Wisconsin Employment Relations Board v. United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America and others, [Two appeals.]
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published