I. Ry., 353 U.S. 30, 77 S.Ct. 635, 1 L.Ed.2d 622.[2]
Moreover, the relief sought by the proposed amendment is barred by laches and estoppel. The plaintiffs were cited in 1952 and 1953, were held to be in violation of the Union Shop Agreement by the B&O hearing officer in 1954 and 1955, were again held by the B&O appeals hearing officer, in early 1957, after the decisions in Alabaugh and Sampsell, to have been in violation of the Union Shop Agreement at the time of their initial hearings, and were thereafter discharged from their employment with the B&O in April, May and June of 1957. In March 1960, they pray, for the first time, restoration to their employment with seniority. No such claim was made in the complaintsfiled in Hostetler on July 12, 1957, and in Decker on November 8, 1957, nor in the Hostetler Amendment to Complaints filed on July 31, 1958, nor in the Decker Amendment to Complaint and Second Amended Complaint filed on June 15, 1959. Plaintiffs at any time after their discharge had the right to be hired as new employees and be placed at the bottom of the seniority roster.
If added to the seniority roster at any place other than at the end, they would displace employees who have always paid their dues. Granting the relief prayed would restore seniority and employment to those who, for reasons of their own, gambled on a rival union and lost, and would result in loss of employment by loyal dues-paying members. It would