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Delaney v. International Union UAW Local No. 94 of John Deere Manufacturing Co.2/25/2004
Nonunion workers, repeatedly derided as "scabs" and "freeloaders" in local union newsletter, appeal district court's dismissal of state law claims on federal free speech grounds. AFFIRMED.
Labor disputes are not for the faint at heart. In a tough campaign at a John Deere plant, four nonunion workers were repeatedly derided as "scabs" and "freeloaders" in the local union's newsletter. They sued the union and its president for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, extortion, and "interference with [their] employment and economic relationship." The four nonunion employees also alleged the defendants violated Iowa's right-to-work law.
The defendants moved for summary judgment. The district court granted the motion and dismissed the entire lawsuit, because, it reasoned, the content of the union's newsletter was constitutionally protected free speech. The plaintiffs appeal. We find federal labor law preempts the plaintiffs' claims and affirm.
I. Scope of Review
Our scope of review on appeal from an entry of summary judgment is well-settled:
We, like the district court, are obliged to view the factual record in the light most favorable to the resisting party, affording that party all reasonable inferences that the record will bear. Summary judgment is proper only if the record made shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. If the conflict in the record concerns only the legal consequences flowing from undisputed facts, entry of summary judgment is proper.... Our review, therefore, is for the correction of errors at law.
Garofalo v. Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, 616 N.W.2d 647, 649-50 (Iowa 2000) (citations omitted)).
II. Facts and Prior Proceedings
Dennis Delaney, Steven Roddick, Richard Bartels, and Dennis Wolter, the plaintiffs, were hired by John Deere Dubuque Works in 1972, and shortly thereafter joined Local Number 94 of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Daniel White, a defendant, is president of the local, which represents all but nine of the nine hundred workers at the plant.
The union was last on strike at John Deere Dubuque Works in 1987. Since then, the union and Deere have entered into several collective bargaining agreements. The plaintiffs maintained nearly continuous, dues-paying membership in the union from hire until after the last relevant agreement. All four plaintiffs also walked the picket line in support of the union.
For various and somewhat vague reasons, the plaintiffs quit the union in 1998 and 1999. Once the plaintiffs left, their names began to appear in the local union newsletter, which contained a "scab list." The scab list named and derided all nonunion workers at the plant. The list was usually accompanied by drawings, commonly known as "clip-art," which were bought as part of a commonly sold computer software package.
The record before us contains fifteen editions of the newsletter, which, when read as a whole, demonstrate a concerted effort to persuade the plaintiffs to join the union. This campaign ramped up around "union-won" holidays.
The newsletter's April 1, 1999 edition, for example, referred to the plaintiffs as "freeloaders" who "will also be enjoying the UNION NEGOTIATED 3 day [Easter] weekend." Union members were encouraged to " emember these SCABS for what they are and treat them accordingly." A drawing of a man with a clothespin on his nose, talking on a telephone, and holding a dead rat, accompanied the plaintiffs' names.
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