[DOWNLOAD] "Cunningham v. Erie Railroad Co." by Second Circuit United States Court Of Appeals # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Cunningham v. Erie Railroad Co.
- Author : Second Circuit United States Court Of Appeals
- Release Date : January 04, 1959
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 63 KB
Description
MEDINA, C. J.: Appellant Samuel Cunningham was for many years a ferryboat porter employed by appellee Erie Railroad Company and a member of appellee The United Railroad Workers of America, Inc., C.I.O., Local 1463. In the latter part of December, 1954 and in January and February, 1955 certain events occurred and thereafter Cunningham found himself no longer a member of the union and out of employment by the railroad.Acting pro se he brought this action against the union and the railroad in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, and, while his complaint speaks in general terms of his "constitutional rights," including the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," it clearly appears that he claims: (1) that he was improperly deprived of his seniority rights; (2) that at first and for a time he refused to pay his union dues "until some action was taken regarding my seniority rights"; (3) that he later tendered payment of the arrears but the union refused to accept the tender; (4) that at the time of his exclusion from the union and his dismissal from employment by the railroad there were other employees of the railroad "who have been as much as 4 months in arrears of their union dues without being dismissed from their employment"; and (5) that the action taken by the union and by the railroad was "because I demanded action concerning my seniority." We interpret this somewhat discursive document, drawn by a person of obviously limited education, as charging in substance that he was wrongfully deprived of his seniority rights and that because he had the temerity to stand up for his rights and refused for a time to pay his union dues he was deprived of his union membership and discharged from the employment of the railroad for a reason other than the non-payment of union dues. The gist of his claim is that he was discriminated against by the union, and that this discrimination was based: (1) upon intemperate remarks, intransigence or generally allegedly wrongful conduct connected with his assertion that he had been deprived of his seniority rights; and (2) the permitting of other members of the union to remain in arrears of dues for longer periods without attempting to exclude them from membership in the union for non-payment of dues.