Misc.] Supreme Court, March, 1921. SCHWARTZ & JAFFEE, INC., Plaintiff, v. SIDNEY HILLMAN, Individually and as General President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, an Unincorporated Association, and Others, Defend ants. (Supreme Court, Kings Special Term, March, 1921.) Injunctions-pendente lite-strikes-when motion for injunction granted labor unions associations - contracts. Where in an action brought by a manufacturer of clothing to perpetually and permanently enjoin the principal, general and local officers and certain members of the "Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America," a national organization having local unions under its jurisdiction, from doing acts injurious to plaintiff's business and for an adjudication that said association is a conspiracy in restraint of trade, it appears from the papers on a motion for an injunction pendente lite that, since the defendant union had called a strike, plaintiff had determined and done everything in its power to return to an open shop" policy, and there is ample proof of plaintiff's claim that defendants are guilty of calling the strike, picketing the plaintiff's premises, interfering with employees and workers of plaintiff and with their contracts of employment, and in general of unlawfully instigating, advising and directing acts of various kinds against plaintiff and its business, the motion for the injunction will be granted. APPLICATION for an injunction. Meier Steinbrink, for plaintiff. 66 Lowenthal & Szold (Robert Szold, of counsel), for defendants, Hillman and others. VAN SICLEN, J. The plaintiff corporation, a manufacturer of clothing, makes application to this court for an order enjoining the defendants during the pendency of this action from doing acts injurious Supreme Court, March, 1921. [Vol. 115. to the plaintiff's business which, it is alleged, consist of unlawful picketing, threats, molestation, intimidation, interference with contracts of employment, and instigating, waging and continuing a strike among plaintiff's employees. The defendants oppose the motion in every particular. The relief sought by the plaintiff is to perpetually and permanently enjoin the defendants from doing the acts sought to be restrained, and for an adjudication that the defendant Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America is a conspiracy in restraint of trade and against the rights of non-union workmen, and for personal judgment. It appears from the moving papers that in December, 1920, the defendant union called a strike against the plaintiff and that since that time the plaintiff has not recognized the defendant union, but on the other hand has determined and done everything in its power to return to what the plaintiff claims to be the open shop" policy and entered into individual contracts with all of its employees whereby said employee agreed to become, or remain during the period of employment, non-union. Thereafter, it appears the defendants' pickets and others, at the direction of the defendant union, resorted to extreme violence upon those in the employ of plaintiff and that it is to secure relief from such condition that this application is made. The plaintiff's contention is that those named as defendants herein are the principal, general and local officers and certain members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, a national organization having local unions under its jurisdiction and that the acts complained of have been done, directed, instigated, or authorized and approved by the defendant, and that all of the individuals committing said acts of violence are either members of the defendant Mise.] Supreme Court, March, 1921. union, employed by it, or swayed and directed by the leaders and those in charge of the activities of the defendant union. It is claimed that the defendant union is not a branch of the American Federation of Labor, but a secession movement from the United Garment Workers of America, which organization from 1914 to 1919 was recognized generally by the clothing manufacturers and that said manufacturers had contracts and agreements with said union which were, to all intents and purposes, exclusively nonunion; that from August, 1919, to August, 1920, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of New York, of which the plaintiff is a member, had a so-called collective agreement with the defendant union herein and that after said August 26, 1920, said agreement was not renewed, with the resultant almost daily strikes and troubles of various kinds which continued until December, 1920, when all relations between the two were severed, and immediately thereafter the defendant union called on a strike all of plaintiff's employees. Since that time, plaintiff claims that its factory in the borough of Brooklyn and place of business in the borough of Manhattan have been picketed, most of the pickets being plaintiff's former employees; that these pickets intimidated, threatened and insulted plaintiff's employees as they came to and left their place of employment and in addition thereto, the employees and workers of the plaintiff were assaulted and such serious injuries inflicted on some that it was necessary to resort to the courts and to the grand jury. Plaintiff contends that the activities of the defendant union have continued and it is attempting by force and violence and threats and persuasion to entice the plaintiff's employees away and to break their contracts with the plaintiff and to join the defendant union; that in order to succeed, the Supreme Court, March, 1921. [Vol. 115. defendant has voted a large sum of money for that purpose, has held public meetings at which defendant's officers or leaders have counselled and advised the members to acts of violence and to do the very acts complained of by the plaintiff and which it claims threatens to wholly destroy its business. By affidavit and otherwise, the plaintiff sets forth fully specific acts of violence practiced on plaintiff and its employees by the defendant union members, pickets or those advised, swayed or controlled by them, against which plaintiff claims it can obtain no relief other than by injunction. The defendant union seeks to meet the charges and allegations of the plaintiff and its complaint by disclaiming that the defendants are responsible for any of the acts complained of, even though some of the members of the defendant union or its local may have participated or been implicated in the unlawful acts charged. However, it appears from all the papers, sufficient for the purpose of this motion, that the real control of the entire situation is with the defendant union, its officers and directors and those who advise, direct and control the course and conduct of the union and its members. Manifestly no other result could reasonably be expected to follow, when the speeches at the meetings, the advice and counsel of the officers and leaders of the defendant union and the very purpose and character of the existence of the defendant union and its activities in the strike called against the plaintiff are considered. From the foregoing, the defendant union will not be heard to deny that it called said strike and to now assert that instead of the defendant being in a conspiracy with the former employees of the plaintiff to ruin the plaintiff's business, the plaintiff and other manufacturers allied with it are seeking to destroy the defendant union. Misc.] Supreme Court, March, 1921. Further, the defendant union claims that the former employees of the plaintiff want to go back to work, but fails to state the conditions to be insisted upon. Plaintiff has offered to take the former employees back to work and stated its conditions, which the defendant union, of course, will not accept. The defendant admits that there is picketing of plaintiff's places of business, but declares that it is by the individual employees after the "lockout" in December, 1920, without any instigation or direction of the defendant union; that the defendant union has nothing to do with the pickets and that, therefore, the injunction sought against picketing must be denied. In the brief presented on behalf of the defendants, the defendants, in spite of the fact that they deny any responsibility for the picketing alleged, in the strongest terms assert that picketing is lawful, that it has a highly useful purpose, and uphold the manner and method of picketing complained of in this very action. The defendant also disputes any merit to the plaintiff's claim that relief should be afforded the plaintiff as to its contracts of employment. The defendant, however, does not in any wise question the contracts which it imposed upon the employers from 1914 to 1919, but claims that defendant should not be restrained because it is not shown that the defendant's acts are wilful or malicious and that the plaintiff and other manufacturers cannot, by forcing upon the workers such a contract, practically paralyze the activities of the defendant union, its members, and workers generally. In any event, the defendants say that the pickets did nothing to induce a breach of said contracts. As to the assaults and other acts of violence, the defendants' answer is that the defendant Tillman and the other individual defendants above amed are not shown to be in any way connected with |