Full opinion text
OPINION VERON, District Judge. This class action was brought under the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C., Section 2000e, et seq. (Title VII) and under 42 U. S.C. Section 1981. The court bifurcated the trial and tried the question of liability, leaving the damage question to be decided later, depending on the outcome of the question of liability. Plaintiffs are black employees employed at the chemical plant operated by PPG Industries, Inc., in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On June 13, 1977, this Court defined the class of plaintiffs as follows: (1) All present and former black employees employed as of or at any time after October 21,1974, by PPG Industries, Inc., at its Lake Charles Chemical Plant located on Columbia Southern Road near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in any maintenance or production department job classification covered by the collective bargaining agreement in effect or which at any material time has been in effect between Defendant PPG Industries, Inc. and Local 470 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, (2) All present and former black employees employed as of or at any time after October 21, 1974 by PPG Industries, Inc., at its Lake Charles Chemical Plant located on Columbia Southern Road near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in any job classification or position not covered by the collective bargaining agreements in effect or which at any material time have been in effect between Defendant PPG Industries, Inc. and Local 470 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Defendant, PPG Industries, Inc., (hereinafter PPG) is a diversified company engaged in the operation of the chemical plant involved in these proceedings. Defendant, Local 470, International Association of Machinists, (hereinafter Local 470) is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 152(5), and represents the hourly employees in the production and maintenance jobs at the Lake Charles, Louisiana plant. PPG is engaged in the manufacture of basic chemicals and chemical compounds, including chlorine, vinyl chloride, EDC, triethane, etc., through highly intricate and sophisticated procedures of breaking down and combining various chemicals. These chemicals are exceedingly hazardous. Many of the chemicals are highly volatile and explosive. There were extensive pretrial proceedings in this case with ample opportunity for discovery and for the proper formulation of issues. The following issues were pursued by the plaintiffs: a. Whether the defendants discriminated against blacks in hiring and job assignment. b. Whether the defendants unlawfully used tests to discriminate against blacks. c. Whether the defendants instituted and/or maintained an unlawful seniority and transfer system that is not bona fide and/or had its genesis in racial discrimination. d. Whether the defendants discriminated against blacks by denying them promotion to supervisory positions. e. Whether defendants discriminated against blacks by failing or refusing to assign them to clerical, technical and/or craft jobs. f. Whether defendants discriminated against blacks by denying them training on an equal basis as whites and requiring blacks to train whites who were then promoted to higher paying and more desirable jobs. g. Whether defendants discriminated against blacks by paying them lower wage rates for performing essentially the same jobs as whites. h. Whether defendants discriminated against blacks by discharging them unlawfully. i. Whether defendant Local 470 has discriminated against blacks by failing to properly represent them without regard to their race or color. At the close of the plaintiffs’ case both defendant PPG and defendant Local 470 filed a number of motions to dismiss certain issues and to redefine the scope of the class. The court, for the reasons stated in its March 26, 1980 ruling, which are hereby adopted as findings of fact, decertified the plaintiffs as proper representatives of the sub-class of black employees not covered by the union contract as described in the original certification order dated June 13, 1977. Only one of the named plaintiffs, Mr. Noah Lewis, was a member of this second sub-class. Plaintiffs were permitted to proceed with litigation of Mr. Lewis’ individual claim. The court also dismissed plaintiffs’ allegation that Local 470 had failed to represent them without regard to their race or color. This ruling was based on the fact that a number of plaintiffs, and other black witnesses called on behalf of the plaintiffs, testified that representatives of Local 470 repeatedly responded to their grievances and complaints and assisted them in obtaining action from the company. Plaintiffs in this case offered over forty employee witnesses. The testimony of these witnesses consisted almost entirely of opinion evidence. The plaintiffs repeatedly testified about things they “felt” or “believed” to be discriminatory. However, they offered little if any credible factual information to support this allegation. The court also notes that there was almost a total absence of allegations of any overt racial harassment or other overt discrimination which occurred at the plant at anytime. TIME PERIOD COVERED BY THIS ACTION The earliest EEOC charge filed by an individual named plaintiff was on April 18, 1975. (PI. Exh. 1). One hundred and eighty days preceding April 18, 1975 is October 21, 1974. Under the provisions of Title VII, an alleged illegal act by the Company is not timely and actionable unless it occurred on or after October 21, 1974. However, the court allowed plaintiffs to present testimony concerning incidents which occurred substantially before this period of time and received statistics for a five year period before this date in order to allow plaintiffs to attempt to show a pattern or practice of discrimination leading up to and continuing into the period covered by this suit. Additionally, to the extent plaintiffs challenged the seniority system, plaintiffs were permitted to introduce evidence relevant to that issue without any time limitation. THE CONTRACTUAL SENIORITY SYSTEM Employees in jobs covered by the collective bargaining agreement are presently classified into 15 separate department or lines of progression. Employees enter these departments through one of two entry pool job classifications. Employees who qualify for the utility crew by passing two job related tests are eligible to go into the skilled power generation, chlorine — caustic production, organic (Plant B) silica, lead loader and maintenance lines of progression. Other employees, hired into the yard utility crew are eligible to enter the diaphragm, mercury, and glanor cell repair, pigments packer, pels shipper, and yard lines of progression. The system is depicted on pages 35 and 36 of Joint Exhibit 16. Employees within each line of progression are promoted based on the amount of time they have spent within the department. Absent special circumstances employees are not allowed to transfer from one department to another. Employees are allowed to transfer from the yard utility crew to the utility crew, however, if they qualify for this position by passing the required tests. To properly understand the development and operation of this departmental seniority system, it is necessary to review in detail the history of the system and the factors which were considered in structuring the system. The plant commenced operations during 1947. At that time it was owned by Southern Alkali Corporation, a separate corporation, owned in part by PPG and American Cyanamid Company. It was purchased by PPG in 1951 when its name was changed to Columbia Southern Chemical Corporation. Approximately one year earlier Southern Alkali Corporation employed an experienced labor relations director, Mr. Clem White. Mr. White was responsible for formulating and implementing labor relations policies for the new plant, including the determination of what job classifications would be created and how they would be organized into departments and progression lines. To insure the labor relations policies were developed in an orderly and systematic way, Mr. White wrote a twelve chapter book describing in detail the recommended steps he would follow in developing the labor relations policies. In order to decide what job classifications should be created and how they should be organized into departments and progression lines, Mr. White recommended an analysis of the functions to be performed at the plant, a listing of the duties to be performed by employees with a detailed listing of the complexities and risks involved in the performance of those duties. Pursuant to the written procedures, Mr. White analyzed the functions to be performed at the plant, the duties employees would be expected to perform, and the complexity of those duties and risks of personal injury or damage to the equipment and processes if the duties were improperly performed. In this connection, he interviewed supervisors employed by the company and experienced in the operation of a chemical plant similar to the one being constructed at Lake Charles. He also reviewed the proposed plant layout, kinds of equipment, and investigated the hazards involved in the chemical processes and electrical power generating facilities. Mr. White also visited an existing plant producing the same type of chemicals with similar processes at Natrium, West Virginia and studied the job classifications, departments and progression lines at that facility. After this detailed analysis, Mr. White recommended the creation of certain job classifications to be organized into the following departments and progression lines: (1) Production Department, (2) Power Department, (3) Shipping Department, (4) Maintenance Department, and (5) Labor Department. Mr. White’s study and analysis of the equipment, functions, and expected employee duties involved with producing the chlorine gas and caustic soda convinced him the following job classifications should be created and organized into a separate production department as follows: Based on his investigation of the equipment, functions and employee duties involved with operation of the large boilers and turbines used to generate the huge amounts of electricity needed to make chlorine gas and caustic soda and to otherwise operate the plant, Mr. White recommended the following classifications should be included in a separate progression line as follows: This recommendation was based on Mr. White’s conclusion that all of the jobs were to be performed in a separate identified area of the plant complex and were all closely related and involved with operation of the equipment used to produce electricity. Further, it was based on his conclusion that the jobs were highly skilled and would require the frequent exercise of judgment, that if exercised improperly, could lead to wide-spread serious injury and death to the employees and could result in the destruction of equipment and the long term cessation of operations of the plant. The jobs were to be performed without close continuous supervision and would require extensive training, usually three to five years, before an employee would be competent to perform the higher level jobs in the progression line. Mr. White’s study and analysis of the equipment, functions and employee duties involved with shipping the chlorine gas and caustic soda convinced him the following jobs should be created and included in a separate progression line as follows: This recommendation was based on Mr. White’s conclusion that all of the jobs involved with shipping chlorine gas and caustic soda were closely related and involved operations of similar types of pumps and other pieces of equipment. Further, it was based on Mr. White’s conclusion that the jobs were highly skilled, and required the frequent exercise of judgment, that if exercised improperly, could lead to wide-spread serious injury and death to employees and to the public generally while the chlorine gas was in transit. It was further based on his conclusion that the jobs were to be performed without close continuous supervision, and it would usually take three to five years before an employee would be competent to perform the higher level jobs in the progression line. Starting with the bottom jobs, the job classifications at each level and the progression lines in the Production Department, Power Department and Shipping Department were designed to provide necessary training to enable the employee to handle the increased complexities and responsibilities required in the next higher job in the progression line. Based on his detailed analysis of the functions and job duties and his years of experience in labor relations, Mr. White concluded such a step by step progression of employees so as to provide training on the increased complexities of the jobs at each higher level in the progression line was essential for the safe and efficient operation of the plant. Pursuant to this, he designed a promotional system under which employees would enter the bottom job and promote to each higher job in the progression line based on his length of service in the progression line. Under the foregoing circumstances and particularly the very hazardous nature of the jobs and the considerable risk of explosion and injury to employees and destruction of equipment, we find the promotional system is essential to the safe and efficient operation of the chemical plant. Based on his investigation, Mr. White recommended a separate department and progression line be created with the following job classifications to perform the maintenance and repair functions on the machinery and equipment at the plant: Mr. White concluded that in order to effectively accomplish the maintenance objectives on all of the various types of turbines, pumps, and instrumentation in the plant, they would need skilled craftsmen with perfected skills in the following craft areas: carpenter, electrician, heavy equipment operator, rigger, machinist, painter, pipe fitter, and welder. However, he specifically recommended a craftsman should not be limited to performing only his craft skill, but would be required to perform all types of maintenance work. Mr. White felt that because there would never be a constant volume of a particular type of craft work, such as electrical work, if employees were limited to performing work in their particular craft skill, depending upon the volume of work, either they would have insufficient work or other essential maintenance functions would not be accomplished. Accordingly, all skilled craftsmen were classified as service mechanics and were expected to work in teams to perform whatever maintenance work needed to be accomplished. The general service helper job in the maintenance department progression line was designed as a job untrained employees would go into and, by working along with the skilled craftsmen, over a period of years would learn a craft skill. Mr. White concluded these jobs should be created and included in a separate progression line because they were closely related and all involved performing the maintenance functions in the plant; were highly skilled, required many years of training, were to be performed without close continuous supervision, and frequently required the exercise of judgment, that if exercised improperly, could result in the serious injury and death to many employees and damage or destruction to equipment and the chemical processes. Because of the highly skilled and hazardous nature of the jobs, the considerable risk to the safety of other employees and in some cases the public generally, as well as the risk of substantive damage to the equipment and chemical processes, Mr. White recommended and subsequently implemented requirements that all employees going into the Production Department, Power Department, Shipping Department and Maintenance Department undergo extensive screening procedures to determine if they had the qualifications to learn to perform the skilled jobs. He testified without contradiction that it was not feasible to hire employees for these skilled jobs randomly off the street. In addition to the considerable cost involved with each turnover, the discharge of unsuitable employees, wasted training efforts, and administrative hiring burdens caused by the increased need for new employees; and because of the extended training time, there was a substantial risk employees may perform satisfactorily up to a certain level in the progression line but be incapable of performing any higher level jobs. If the employee were performing satisfactorily at his present level and could not be discharged this would result in clogging the progression of jobs and removing essential steps in the training process designed by Mr. White. Further, it could leave the company without adequate trained personnel to operate the plant. To prevent the serious adverse consequences of random selection, the screening procedures included a thorough review of the applicant’s prior work history, an investigation of the applicant’s experience with prior employers, structured interviews designed to elicit information about the employee’s ability to perform the jobs, and paper and pencil tests designed to determine whether the applicant had substantial mental abilities sufficient to perform the higher level and more complex jobs in the plant. The company retained Dr. Baker, Head of Industrial Psychology at the University of Texas, to advise them about what tests should be adopted. After an investigation of the jobs at the plant Dr. Baker recommended the use of a mechanical aptitude test and the Otis Test which was widely used by industry and also the Armed Forces. Shortly after, based on the recommendations of Dr. Tydlaska, an Industrial Psychologist from the University of Texas, the company began using the Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test to screen applicants for the skilled jobs. Since that time, all applicants, other than skilled craftsmen with four or more years of demonstrated journeymen craft skills, for jobs in the skilled progression lines have been required to pass the Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test. Once an applicant passed this rigorous screening for the skilled jobs he was placed in a utility crew job, a pool of employees from which employees were selected to go into the skilled progression lines. Based on his analysis and investigation, Mr. White concluded there should also be a pool of unskilled employees to perform miscellaneous menial laboring type jobs such as clean-up, mowing the grass, and other similar jobs. Accordingly, he recommended the creation of a job classification called “yard labor.” He concluded this should be a separate job classification and should not be included in any of the departments containing the skilled jobs because the work was unskilled repetitive type work that could normally be learned in a few days and did not involve the exercise of any significant judgment that if performed improperly, would result in injury to a large number of employees or substantial damage to the equipment or chemical processes. Further, his investigation revealed this work was not meaningfully related to the work in the skilled progression lines and would not provide any meaningful training for the skilled jobs. He concluded, and we find the evidence establishes business considerations dictate, that these unskilled jobs should not be placed in the skilled progression lines. His decision to create the yard labor job as a separate job and to not include it in the skilled progression lines was based in part on the fact that the Natrium, West Virginia plant he visited had a separate yard labor job classification to perform these unskilled type functions. At the West Virginia plant the yard labor job was held by white employees. For similar reasons, Mr. White recommended the creation of a separate loader laborer job. The employees in the loader laborer job are primarily responsible for cleaning out and preparing for shipment the tank cars used to transport caustic soda. Although the job title was changed in 1977 to Caustic Rack Helper, the duties remained the same. Based on his investigation, Mr. White concluded there should be a separate job classification for this work that should not be included in the departments containing the skilled jobs because the loader laborer work was unskilled repetitive type work that normally could be learned in a few weeks, did not involve the exercise of any significant judgment that if performed improperly would result in serious injury to employees or damage to the equipment or chemical processes, was not meaningfully related to work in the skilled progression line and would not provide meaningful training for the skilled jobs. Mr. White’s recommendation was based in part on the fact that the Natrium, West Virginia plant he visited had a separate loader laborer job classification to perform these similar unskilled functions on the railroad cars used to transport caustic soda. At the West Virginia plant this job was held by white employees. Plaintiffs claim the job was created as a separate job and excluded from the Shipping Department based on racial considerations. However, the evidence fully establishes and we find the job was created and placed in the unskilled Labor Department based on the sound business considerations discussed above and that racial considerations were not involved in the decision. Based on his investigation, Mr. White also recommended the creation of the jobs of renewal man, cut-out laborer, and cell renewal laborer and their organization into a separate progression line as follows: He concluded these should be created and included in a separate progression line from the departments containing the skilled jobs because the work in each of these jobs involved repair work on the cells and was related, but was relatively unskilled, repetitive type work that could normally be learned in a few months, did not involve the exercise of any significant judgment that if exercised improperly would result in the injury to a large number of employees or extensive damage to the chemical processes or significant portions of equipment. Further, he concluded the duties of those jobs were not significantly related to the types of skills and duties performed by employees in the skilled progression lines and would not provide any meaningful training for the skilled jobs. This conclusion was based in part on the existence of similar jobs classifications organized in a separate progression line at the Natrium, West Virginia plant. At the West Virginia plant these jobs were held by white employees. Plaintiffs claim these jobs were excluded from the Production Department Progression Line based on racial considerations. In support of this, they introduced testimony showing that employees in both progression lines were involved with the Diaphragm Cells used to manufacture Chlorine and Caustic. The evidence, however, established the duties, skills, and responsibilities of the two groups of jobs were completely different. The employees in the bottom job, Cell Builders, in the Cell Renewal Progression Line rebuild the Diaphragm Cells. The cells, approximately 5 feet high and 6 feet square, are made of concrete and consist of two major components: the cell top which contains the anodes and the cell bottom which contains the cathode. By the flow of electricity through a solution of brine water, chlorine gas, caustic soda and hydrogen are created. As a result of this electrolytic source the anodes, cathodes and concrete tops and bottoms have to periodically be replaced. All of the Diaphragm cells are constructed the same and have the same identical parts. Presently, of the approximately 1000 cells, there are two sizes. Other than the size the cells are identical. The employees in the cell builder job rebuild the cells in an assembly line process. In this process one group of employees in the cell builder job pours cement in the steel molds, another group inserts the anodes and so on. The jobs are repetitive and unskilled and plaintiffs admitted each of the jobs could be learned in a few days and all of the jobs in the process could be learned in a few weeks. The employees in this job are not required to exercise any significant judgment, and improper performance of this job does not create a significant risk of injury to employees or destruction of large amounts of company property. The employees in the next two jobs in the progression line, Cut-out Helper and Renewal man, work as a team to take the cell out of the chemical process area and transfer it to the rebuilding room. Briefly, these jobs involve connecting a bypass wire around the cell and pulling a switch to cause the electricity to bypass the cell. The cell is then moved with an overhead crane to the rebuilding room. After the cells are rebuilt, they are replaced in the chemical process area and the electricity is again hooked up to the cell. The tasks performed in each of the approximately one thousand diaphragm cells are identical and the work is repetitive and unskilled. Plaintiffs admit the jobs can be learned in a matter of a few weeks. Other than the relatively minor discretion involved in insuring the anodes and cathodes do not physically touch each other when the cells are replaced in line in the chemical process area, and being careful not to touch the electrical circuits, these employees are not required to exercise any significant judgment, that if exercised improperly, could result in injury to employees or damage to the equipment or chemical processes. The Lead Cell Repairman, as the name implies, is a working leadman in the Cell Rebuilding area. On the other hand, employees in the Production Department are responsible for actually controlling the chemical process through the manipulation of a number of variable factors such as an electrical current, brine content and flow of brine. The chemical process is monitored and controlled by these employees through extensive instrumentation that registers and controls all of the pumps, valves, heat exchangers, turbines and other machinery involved with the manufacture of chlorine gas, caustic soda and hydrogen. To control this process the employees in the Production Department Progression Line must understand how the chemistry and how all of the various parts of the process are related to each other. In order to competently learn to perform the higher level jobs in the progression normally requires three to five years of on-the-job training in conjunction with some formal instruction. These jobs require the frequent exercise of judgment that if exercised improperly could result in explosions and injury and death through the release of chlorine gas affecting many employees and damage to the chemical processes. The inclusion of the unskilled repetitive jobs in the Cell Builder — Renewal Progression would destroy the step-by-step training process designed by Mr. White by clogging the progression line and discouraging qualified persons from remaining employed and could result in the unavailability of trained personnel to operate this sophisticated and hazardous chemical process. The court finds the Cell Builder — Renewal Progression jobs were excluded from the Production Department for significant business reasons and that racial considerations were not involved in the decision. Because of the unskilled nature of the loader laborer job and cell renewal jobs, Mr. White recommended, and later implemented, procedures so that employees for these jobs would be selected from the employees in the unskilled yard labor job, the pool of employees performing the unskilled laboring type work. The separate unskilled Labor Department was organized as follows: Employees going into these unskilled jobs were not required to pass the rigorous screening required of employees going into the skilled progression lines. Based on his years of experience in labor relations and analysis of the jobs in the proposed plant, Mr. White testified without contradiction, and the court finds, the efficient and safe operation of the plant was significantly furthered by organization of related jobs into separate progression lines and by separating the progression lines into those containing skilled jobs requiring a high degree of judgment and responsibility and those containing unskilled repetitive type jobs, and by imposing more stringent hiring qualifications for employees being hired for the skilled jobs. The grouping of jobs into those requiring a high degree of skill and those that do not and establishing different hiring criteria for each group is a logical and efficient way of organizing jobs within the plant. Although the evidence establishes that after the organization of the progression lines into skilled and unskilled lines was recommended by Mr. White and subsequently adopted by the company, black applicants were only hired into the unskilled jobs; in view of the convincing testimony of Mr. White that the manner in which the jobs and progression lines were organized was because of significant business considerations; the extensive evidence confirming that this organization is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of this plant; and the fact that the decision was based in part on the organization of jobs at the similar Natrium, West Virginia plant where the unskilled jobs were held by white employees; the court finds the jobs were created and organized into these skilled progression lines and unskilled progression lines based on sound business considerations and that racial considerations were not involved in the decision. Mr. White testified, and the court finds that racial considerations, or the race of employees subsequently hired to fill the jobs, was not a factor in the decision about what jobs would be created or how they would be organized into departments and progression lines and that his decision and recommendations were based solely on the important business considerations described above and not contradicted by plaintiffs. On September 10, 1948, approximately one year after the plant commenced operations, the employees in the following described bargaining unit voted to have Local 1317 of the International Association of Machinists represent them for purposes of collective bargaining: All hourly paid production and maintenance employees of Company employed at its Lake Charles, Louisiana, plant excluding clerical office workers, technically trained laboratory employees, plant guards, plant protection firemen, temporary employees . . . and all supervisory employees with the authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of such employees, or effectively recommend such acts. (Joint Exhibit 1, page 4). All employees in the bargaining unit, white and black, voted in the election and Local 1317 (later changed to Local 470) represented all employees, white and black, for all purposes in negotiations with the company and in processing grievances under the collective bargaining agreement. At the time of the NLRB election and for a number of years after, the black employees had their own separate local, Local Union 2002, for purposes of internal union affairs. However, for purposes of negotiations, processing grievances and all other dealings with the company, black employees participated on the Local 1317 negotiating committee and as Local 1317 Union Stewards for processing of grievances and, as required by the National Labor Relations Act, the Company dealt only with Local 1317 as representatives of all employees, white and black. During the negotiations leading up to the first collective bargaining agreement, the 1949 contract (Joint Exhibit 1), the parties agreed to the departmental and progression line seniority system initially recommended by Mr. White and adopted by the company including the restrictions on transfer from one progression line to another. Plaintiffs suggest in their proposed findings based on certain portions of the 1966 contract (Joint Exhibit 10) and the 1969 contract (Joint Exhibit 11), that until 1969 the employees in the Labor Department, all of whom were black, did not acquire progression line seniority rights even if they entered the cell builder — cell renewal progression line, whereas employees in the Power, Production, Shipping and Maintenance Department, all of whom were white, acquired seniority upon entering the progression line. The evidence, however, establishes that once an employee entered the cell builder— cell renewal progression line, the only progression fed from employees in the yard crew at that time, he likewise acquired seniority in the progression line and was promoted and demoted based on that seniority. In addition to the testimony at trial, this is borne out by language in the collective bargaining agreement and the seniority lists. Thus, in the first agreement negotiated in 1949, Joint Exhibit 1, at page 11: (c) The beginner job in each department will be filled from qualified employees in the utility or yard labor crews in accordance with the established progression schedules. Employees in the yard labor crew and utility crew who have established seniority credit in accordance with paragraph (f) will be given preference for higher jobs when they have a satisfactory merit rating, according to the progression line. (d) Progression beyond the beginner job will be on departmental progression lines and will be based on departmental seniority credit and satisfactory performance rating according to the merit rating methods now in effect. (e) All departmental employees are on trial for the first forty-five (45) days of work on any job assignment. An employee who does not satisfactorily complete his trial period may be returned to his former job in the departmental progression line. (f) In event of curtailment of working forces, the reduction shall be by a reverse operation of the progression procedure in the Production, Power and Shipping Departments. In the event of reduction of forces in the Service Department, lay-offs will be made in accordance with departmental seniority credit within the affected groups. Forces will be reduced in such proportion as the work available justified and from those classifications short of work usually handled by the group. Pipefitters, machinists, welders, electricians and other mechanics as well as apprentices laid off may use their seniority credit to displace a general service helper who has less departmental service credit. Employees being reduced may be returned to the utility crew or yard labor crew in accordance with the reverse order of the progression schedule. It was established through testimony that as used in the collective bargaining agreement the term “departmental seniority” was synonymous with “progression line seniority.” Although, as is true with most negotiated collective bargaining agreements, the instant agreement is not a model of clarity and must be interpreted in light of the actual practices, the language certainly suggests that employees in the yard crew would enter the cell builder-cell renewal progression line and would be promoted within the progression line based on seniority- This was confirmed by testimony and by seniority lists (PPG Exhibit 177a) for the Cell Renewal Department which show seniority dates for employees in the progression line of 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 and so on. If, as plaintiffs claim, black employees could not acquire seniority in this progression line prior to 1969, then clearly they could not have seniority dates prior to 1969. Pursuing this same theme, plaintiffs point to the fact that employees in the pool of unskilled labor type jobs originally called yard labor, and subsequently identified as yard crew, classified and unclassified labor, and yard utility crew, worked in the labor pool for many years but did not receive progression line or departmental seniority until the 1969 contract. However, as is discussed hereafter, the reason for this is simply that there were no other progression lines being fed by the labor pool until 1969 and these employees were not in a progression line and could therefore not acquire progression line seniority until they were in fact in a progression line. The court finds that the departmental progression line system originally created based on Mr. White’s recommendations was based on sound business considerations and also finds the genesis of the seniority system was not based on racial considerations. The seniority system adopted by PPG and the union confirmed the progression lines and promotional procedures originally recommended by Mr. White. Under those procedures employees going into the skilled jobs were hired into the Utility Crew and, as need arose, thereafter entered the bottom job in one of the skilled progression lines. Employees would thereafter be promoted to each higher level of jobs in the progression line based on his date of seniority within the line. Employees going into the unskilled jobs were hired into the Yard Crew and thereafter, as the need arose, entered the cell cut-out and cell renewal progression line. Employees would thereafter be promoted to each higher level job in the progression line based on his date of seniority within the line. During the first five years of the plant’s operation, the job classifications, progression line and promotion system recommended by Mr. White proved to serve the significant business efficiency and safety objectives except in two areas: (1) employees in the Service Helper job in the Maintenance Department were not learning to be skilled craftsmen merely by working with the Service Mechanics and it became apparent a formal apprenticeship training program was necessary; and (2) a separate job needed to be created in the Labor Department for the repetitive work involved in oiling the pumps, engines and similar pieces of equipment. In the Maintenance Department, based on five years experience, the company concluded an individual could not learn to be a good service mechanic merely by working with a skilled Service Mechanic and that a formal, structured training program was necessary. To solve this problem the company instituted a formal four year apprenticeship program approved by the United States Department of Labor to train employees to be skilled Service Mechanics and negotiated a separate Service Apprentice job in the Maintenance Department progression line. The Service Apprentice job was included in the 1952 collective bargaining agreement in the Maintenance Department as follows: Mr. White testified, and we find, the Service Apprentice job was created and included in the Maintenance Department progression line for sound business reasons and that racial considerations were not involved in the decision. Based on the company’s experience it was also concluded oiling of the equipment must be done in a systematic way and could best be accomplished by having the same employees perform the job each day. The job had been performed by employees in the yard labor job, and would continue to be an unskilled, repetitive job of putting oil in the machinery according to a set schedule and would not involve the exercise of judgment that if exercised improperly would result in injury or death of employees or significant damage to substantial amounts of equipment or chemical processes. Accordingly, a separate job called the oil-er job was created and was included in the Labor Department progression line as follows: Employees were selected from the pool of unskilled employees in the yard labor job. A similar separate “dead end” job existed at the Natrium, West Virginia plant where the job was held by white employees. Other than the addition of a few jobs in the Production Department progression line, caused by the addition of new equipment, the jobs and progression lines remained unchanged until 1960. From 1960 to the present there have been substantial changes in the size of the plant and a number of new chemical processes involving different techniques and equipment have been added resulting in corresponding changes in the skilled jobs and progression lines. Although for the most part plaintiffs offered no evidence challenging that the formation of these new skilled jobs and progression lines was based on sound business considerations, they nevertheless challenge how these jobs are organized into progression lines and claim the seniority system is not bona fide. As detailed below, the evidence fully establishes these new jobs were created and organized into progression lines as new equipment and chemical processes were added in order to safely and efficiently operate these very hazardous chemical processes. The first significant addition occurred in 1960 when the company completed construction of the equipment used to manufacture an entirely new organic chemical, ethylene dichloride, at the plant. To operate this new process, two new jobs were created, lead operator and auxiliary operator, and included in a separate line of progression called the EDC Department. Both of these jobs were highly skilled jobs requiring the regular exercise of discretion and judgment that if exercised improperly created a substantial risk of injury to a large number of employees and damage to the equipment and the chemical processes. Both jobs were involved in operating the equipment and chemical processes used to manufacture ethylene dichloride and were performed in a separate identified portion of the plant complex. When the new chemical process was commenced in 1960, there were two employees assigned to each shift for a total of nine employees responsible for operating the continuous twenty-four hour, seven-day a week chemical process. The initial employees for this chemical process were selected from among employees that bid on the job from the other skilled lines of progression and who already had some experience with operation of pumps, valves and other similar types of equipment that would be operated in the new department. Although plaintiffs have generally claimed the seniority system is not bona fide and was otherwise designed to restrict blacks to certain job classifications, they have not specifically challenged the creation of the separate jobs and their organization into a separate line of progression to operate the ethylene dichloride chemical process. In any event, the court finds the evidence clearly establishes these jobs were created and organized into a separate progression line based on sound business considerations and that race of the employees was in no sense a factor in the company’s decision. Similar to the other skilled lines of progression, the jobs were organized so that the lowest level job provided training to perform the more complex and more difficult duties in the higher level job in the progression line. During the negotiations leading up to the 1961 contract, the progression line created by the company was included in the contract as follows: (Joint Exhibit 8). Subsequent to the 1961 negotiations, the company added another operating unit used to manufacture hydrogen chloride to the ethylene dichloride chemical process. At this same time, the company added an operator classification to the progression line to operate this related but additional operating unit. In the negotiations leading up to the 1963 contract, the contract was amended to reflect the addition of this new job classification as follows: (Joint Exhibit 9, at page 41). Plaintiffs offered no evidence which would indicate the addition of this job to the progression line was for any reason other than sound business considerations. The court finds racial considerations were not involved in the creation of this job as its addition to the progression line. In accordance with the company’s initial plans to use ethylene dichloride as a basic chemical to manufacture a number of other related organic chemicals, after the start-up of the ethylene dichloride manufacturing process in 1960, the following additional and related chemical processes were added in the following years: HCL, hydrogen chloride — 1963; methyl chloroform (or tri-ethane) — 1965; perchloroethylene — 1964—1965; trichloroethylene — 1964-1965; ethyl chloride — 1966; vinyl chloride — 1966-1967; vinylidene dichloride — 1969-1970; OHC— ethylene dichloride by a different process— 1969; the addition of a pollution unit; the addition of a new tri-ethane plant for the manufacture of the chemical by a different process — 1978-1979. In addition, at the time of the trial the company had under construction equipment that will be used to produce additional vinyl chloride and ethylene dichloride. All of the chemical processes used to produce these various chemicals are closely integrated. The manufacturing process is a continuous twenty-four hour, seven day week process and the by-products from the manufacture of one chemical are the basic chemicals used to manufacture the other chemicals. The chemical processes used to manufacture all of these chemicals are similar and require the operation of similar types of machinery and equipment. The jobs are performed in a separate identified part of the plant complex. Because of the substantial expansion of this portion of the plant into these new product lines, a number of new jobs were created and included in what was originally the ethylene dichloride or EDC Department. Subsequently, the department name was changed to Plant B to more accurately reflect that the chemical processes were not concerned solely with the manufacture of ethylene dichloride. Starting with the bottom jobs, the jobs were placed in the progression line based on their complexity and level of skill and responsibility required so that the performance at one level of jobs would provide necessary training to perform the more complex and hazardous duties in the next higher level of jobs in the progression line. Because of the considerable growth in the number of jobs, in the negotiations resulting in the 1979 collective bargaining contract, the jobs were divided into two separate progression lines, called Plant B — 1 and Plant B-2. The progression lines were divided into separate progression lines because the administration of the employees in one progression line became too unwieldy from the standpoint of supervision and training. The number of jobs was too many for one superintendent to effectively supervise. The equipment and chemical processes in both the Plant B-l and Plant B-2 progression lines are similar, and the jobs in the two separate progression lines were divided primarily based on their relationship to a particular part of the chemical process and their different physical location within the plant complex. The jobs were organized within the new progression lines so that each level of jobs provided necessary training in order to perform the more complex and hazardous duties in the next higher level of jobs in the progression line. Each higher level job requires the employee to have a greater understanding of how the chemical process operates to produce the chemical compounds, and the employee must exercise increasing degrees of judgment that if exercised improperly would result in increasing risks of personal injury and death to other employees and damage to the equipment or chemical processes. It was clearly established the jobs in these two progression lines are highly skilled and hazardous jobs requiring extensive training of three to five years before employees are competent to perform the higher level of jobs in the progression line. These employees are routinely called upon to exercise judgment that if exercised improperly could result in serious injury and death to a number of employees and destruction of the equipment and the chemical processes. This was demonstrated by the explosion and resulting death of five employees and destruction of equipment costing the company millions of dollars that occurred as a result of operator error a few years ago. In view of the business considerations, and particularly the very hazardous nature of these jobs and possible injury and death to employees and damage to equipment, the court finds the creation of these jobs and the manner in which they were organized into lines of progression is essential for the safe and efficient operation of these organic chemical processes, and that racial considerations were not involved in the decision. The court further finds the promotional system created by the company was not in any sense included in the collective bargaining agreement or maintained in successive collective bargaining agreements based on racial considerations and that the system is bona fide. As a part of the large plant expansion, shortly before the negotiations leading up to the 1969 contract, the company completed a separate plant within the plant complex to manufacture silica pigments, an entirely new product made from molten glass. The product is used in various products, including cosmetics and tires. To operate this new chemical process the company created the following job classifications and included them in a separate line of progression in a new silica pigments department: The employees in this progression line are responsible for the operation of a large furnace used to produce molten glass at extremely high temperatures and to manipulate the mixture of various chemicals, heat and pressure in order to produce the final product. Through the information recorded and controlled through complex instrumentation, the employees are required to manipulate a number of variables including heat, pressure, flow and mixture of various liquids and chemicals in order to produce the product safely and to the proper specifications. Testimony clearly established these employees are required to routinely exercise considerable judgment, and that if the judgment is exercised improperly it could result in injury to employees and destruction of the oven used to produce the glass as well as the entire chemical process. All of the jobs in the progression line are performed in a separate identified area of the plant complex and relate to operation of the equipment and chemical processes used to manufacture silica pigments. The jobs are highly skilled, and were organized in the progression line so that starting with the bottom job each job provides necessary training for the more complex and hazardous duties of the next level of jobs in the progression line. It normally takes three to five years to train someone to competently perform the higher level jobs in the progression line. The new jobs and their organization into the separate silica pigments progression line was agreed to by the union and was included in the collective bargaining contract during the negotiations leading up to the 1969 contract. Although plaintiffs do not specifically challenge the creation of these jobs and their organization into the separate silica pigments progression line, they do generally challenge the bona fides of the seniority system. The court finds the evidence clearly establishes the jobs in the silica pigments progression line were created on sound business considerations. In view of the fact that improper exercise of judgment by the employees in this progression line could result in losses of millions of dollars to the company, the court finds that the job classifications and the manner in which they have been organized into a separate progression line as well as the promotional procedures are essential to the safety and efficiency of the company’s operations. The court further finds that racial considerations were in no way involved in the decision about which jobs should be created and how they should be organized into a separate progression line, and that racial considerations were in no way involved in the negotiations to include the jobs in a separate progression line in the 1969 collective bargaining agreement or any subsequent agreement. Because of the substantial expansion of the plant, it became apparent during the early 1970’s the company would be forced to significantly increase its ability to produce electrical power. To meet these new needs, the company added huge new boilers and turbines to their existing power generating facilities. The boilers are a number of stories high and the turbines are several hundred feet long and are capable of generating enough electricity for five or more cities the size of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Similar to the existing boilers, turbines and related power generating equipment, although on a larger scale, the new equipment requires a very high degree of skill and judgment to operate. Through information recorded and controlled through complex instrumentation, operators in the Power Department are required to frequently make judgments about a number of different variables, including steam flows and pressures, air flows, fuel consumption, and the interrelationship with the public utility electrical grid system. If the employees in these operator positions in the Power Department improperly exercise this judgment, it can easily result in massive explosions and injury or death to many employees and the destruction of equipment. Additionally, loss of the power generating capabilities through such an explosion could result in the inability to operate certain of the chemical processes. For example, one of the basic raw ingredients used to manufacture chlorine gas and caustic soda is electricity and destruction of a portion of the power generating capabilities could severely affect the company’s ability to continue these chemical processes. Because of the long time needed to replace a boiler or turbine, normally more than a year, the possible financial losses are enormous to PPG, the employees who would be laid off and to the community. With the substantial increase in the amount of equipment, prior to the 1977 negotiations the company created a number of new jobs and organized them in a separate progression line and identified the two separate progression lines as Power Plant A and Power Plant C as follows: The job classifications in each of the progression lines involve the operation of the equipment used to generate electrical power, steam, compressed air, and high pressure cooling water for the entire plant complex through certain complex instrumentation. The jobs are divided into the two separate progression lines based on their interrelationship and location of the equipment controlled by the employees in the progression line within the plant complex. All of the jobs in both progression lines are highly skilled jobs requiring the exercise of considerable judgment that if exercised improperly could result in injury and death to many employees and destruction of equipment and the chemical processes. Because of the level of skill and responsibility of these employees it takes three to five years to train an employee to competently perform the higher level jobs in the progression line. The jobs were created and organized within the progression lines so that each level of jobs would provide necessary training to perform the more complex and hazardous duties and greater responsibilities at each successive higher level of jobs in the progression line. Although plaintiffs do not specifically challenge the jobs created in the Power Department and how they were organized into progression lines, the plaintiffs do generally attack the bona fides of the seniority system. The evidence clearly establishes, and the court finds, the jobs created and the manner in which they were organized into two progression lines in the Power Department is essential for the safe and efficient operation of the plant and that racial considerations were in no way involved in the decision about which jobs would be created or how they would be organized in the progression lines. The court further finds that racial considerations were in no way involved in the initial inclusion of these jobs in the collective bargaining agreement or subsequent collective bargaining agreements. In 1976, the company also completed construction of Plant C, a new plant designed to produce chlorine and caustic through an entirely new type of cell called a glanor cell. To operate this new chemical process the company created the following jobs and included them in a separate progression line which was included in the 1977 collective bargaining agreement as follows: Similar to the earlier process, employees in these operator jobs are required to manipulate a number of variables including voltage, current, brine levels and flows, through information recorded and controlled through complex instrumentation. The employees must understand the chemical processes and the operation and interaction of the hundreds of valves, pumps, heat exchangers and other types of machinery involved in the process. The jobs are highly skilled and require the frequent exercise of judgment that if exercised improperly could result in explosion or the release of chlorine gas and injury or death to a number of employees and destruction of equipment and the chemical processes. All of the jobs in this separate progression line involve the operation of the equipment used to produce chlorine and caustic through the glanor cell process and are located in a separate identified area of the plant complex. The jobs are organized within the progression line so that starting with the bottom job each level of jobs provides necessary training to perform the more complex, higher skilled and more hazardous jobs at each higher level in the progression line. In addition to the operator jobs, the company also created two jobs and organized them into a separate progression line to accomplish the repair and rebuilding of these new types of cells as follows: Similar to the cell builder jobs in the Diaphragm Cell Builder — Renewal Progression Line, the jobs in this progression did not involve operation of the chemical processes and did not involve manipulation of the variables through instrumentation. The glanor renewal jobs involved repetitive, unskilled tasks of taking apart, cleaning and renewing the identical glanor cells. The jobs required very little skill or judgment and could be learned in a few weeks. These employees were not required to exercise any significant judgment and improper performance of their job did not have the serious widespread consequences of injury to employees or destruction to equipment if performed improperly. Although plaintiffs argued significant skill is involved with transporting the large glanor cells back to the cell renewal area, the evidence established a special transporting device had been constructed for this purpose that required minimal skill and judgment to operate and employees in the job could seriously damage a cell only by almost intentional carelessness about how they operated the vehicle. Accordingly, the court finds that these jobs were created and organized into separate progression lines based on sound business considerations and that racial considerations were in no way involved in the decision to create these jobs or progression lines or their subsequent inclusion in or maintenance in the collective bargaining agreement. The court further finds the organization of the skilled operator progression line as a separate progression line is essential to the safe and efficient operation of the company. As the plant grew and with the advent of more sophisticated safety equipment and extensive regulatio