Discrimination claim against Kansas City-based union tossed by

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Jul 10, 2008 by Aaron Bailey

A federal judge rejected claims by five black men that they were discriminated against by their union.

The five men sued Kansas City-based Local 2 Sheet Metal Workers' Union on claims that they were denied job opportunity referrals because of their race. The suit was filed in 2006.

They also sued on a retaliation claim, alleging that the Local 2 officials publicized their names and the union's lawsuit expenses to other members as payback for the litigation. U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner granted Local 2 summary judgment on the retaliation claims in February.

The remaining discrimination claim went to trial late last month. After a seven-day bench trial that ended last week, Fenner sided with Local 2 in an order handed down Tuesday.

"We're pleased to see the union has been completely vindicated," said Local 2's lead defense attorney, Donald Aubry. "Frankly, we hope that members see this is a trade free to young men and women of all races."

The five black men sued the union claiming that its referral process -- which links union members with jobs -- treated whites more preferably than blacks. During the trial, the plaintiffs' expert witness was Dr. Arthur Gutman, who testified that his analysis of the union's records showed blacks worked fewer hours due to the referral process and were paid on average less than whites.

Gutman testified that between 2002 through 2006, the mean number of hours worked by whites was 1566.26, while the number of hours worked by blacks was 1338.75.

In his order, Fenner said Gutman's analysis was "not reliable because of the assumptions he makes, unsupported conclusions he draws, and variables he fails to consider in rendering his opinion." Fenner said the numbers don't reflect the characteristics of the individuals and who would actually be affected by the referral process.

Aubry, of Kansas City-based Jolley, Walsh, Hurley, Raisher & Aubry, said Gutman "told us about orange juice and made it out to be apple juice."

Plaintiffs' attorney Arthur A. Benson II directed inquiries to lead attorney Joseph Drayton, of New York-based Kaye Scholer, who couldn't be reached for comment.

Aubry said that during the trial, plaintiffs were asking for combined compensatory damages of more than $1 million. He said that after the summary judgment, a settlement conference was held with no resolution. Aubry declined to discuss details of the settlement negotiations, but he did say Local 2 viewed a trial as the best way to resolve the matter.