29 U.S.C. § 481 — Terms of office and election procedures

Page 128 TITLE 29—LABOR § 465 having jurisdiction of the labor organization for such relief (including injunctions) as may be ap- propriate. (b) Venue For the purpose of actions under this section, district courts of the United States shall be deemed to have jurisdiction of a labor organiza- tion (1) in the district in which the principal of- fice of such labor organization is located, or (2) in any district in which its duly authorized offi- cers or agents are engaged in conducting the af- fairs of the trusteeship. (c) Presumptions of validity or invalidity of trusteeship In any proceeding pursuant to this section a trusteeship established by a labor organization in conformity with the procedural requirements of its constitution and bylaws and authorized or ratified after a fair hearing either before the ex- ecutive board or before such other body as may be provided in accordance with its constitution or bylaws shall be presumed valid for a period of eighteen months from the date of its establish- ment and shall not be subject to attack during such period except upon clear and convincing proof that the trusteeship was not established or maintained in good faith for a purpose allowable under section 462 of this title. After the expira- tion of eighteen months the trusteeship shall be presumed invalid in any such proceeding and its discontinuance shall be decreed unless the labor organization shall show by clear and convincing proof that the continuation of the trusteeship is necessary for a purpose allowable under section 462 of this title. In the latter event the court may dismiss the complaint or retain jurisdiction of the cause on such conditions and for such pe- riod as it deems appropriate. (Pub. L. 86–257, title III, § 304, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 531.) § 465. Report to Congress The Secretary shall submit to the Congress at the expiration of three years from September 14, 1959, a report upon the operation of this sub- chapter. (Pub. L. 86–257, title III, § 305, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 532.) § 466. Additional rights and remedies; exclusive jurisdiction of district court; res judicata The rights and remedies provided by this sub- chapter shall be in addition to any and all other rights and remedies at law or in equity: Pro- vided, That upon the filing of a complaint by the Secretary the jurisdiction of the district court over such trusteeship shall be exclusive and the final judgment shall be res judicata. (Pub. L. 86–257, title III, § 306, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 532.) SUBCHAPTER V—ELECTIONS § 481. Terms of office and election procedures (a) Officers of national or international labor or- ganizations; manner of election Every national or international labor organi- zation, except a federation of national or inter- national labor organizations, shall elect its offi- cers not less often than once every five years ei- ther by secret ballot among the members in good standing or at a convention of delegates chosen by secret ballot. (b) Officers of local labor organizations; manner of election Every local labor organization shall elect its officers not less often than once every three years by secret ballot among the members in good standing. (c) Requests for distribution of campaign lit- erature; civil action for enforcement; juris- diction; inspection of membership lists; ade- quate safeguards to insure fair election Every national or international labor organi- zation, except a federation of national or inter- national labor organizations, and every local labor organization, and its officers, shall be under a duty, enforceable at the suit of any bona fide candidate for office in such labor organiza- tion in the district court of the United States in which such labor organization maintains its principal office, to comply with all reasonable requests of any candidate to distribute by mail or otherwise at the candidate’s expense cam- paign literature in aid of such person’s can- didacy to all members in good standing of such labor organization and to refrain from discrimi- nation in favor of or against any candidate with respect to the use of lists of members, and when- ever such labor organizations or its officers au- thorize the distribution by mail or otherwise to members of campaign literature on behalf of any candidate or of the labor organization itself with reference to such election, similar distribu- tion at the request of any other bona fide can- didate shall be made by such labor organization and its officers, with equal treatment as to the expense of such distribution. Every bona fide candidate shall have the right, once within 30 days prior to an election of a labor organization in which he is a candidate, to inspect a list con- taining the names and last known addresses of all members of the labor organization who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement re- quiring membership therein as a condition of employment, which list shall be maintained and kept at the principal office of such labor organi- zation by a designated official thereof. Adequate safeguards to insure a fair election shall be pro- vided, including the right of any candidate to have an observer at the polls and at the count- ing of the ballots. (d) Officers of intermediate bodies; manner of election Officers of intermediate bodies, such as gen- eral committees, system boards, joint boards, or joint councils, shall be elected not less often than once every four years by secret ballot among the members in good standing or by labor organization officers representative of such members who have been elected by secret ballot. (e) Nomination of candidates; eligibility; notice of election; voting rights; counting and publi- cation of results; preservation of ballots and records In any election required by this section which is to be held by secret ballot a reasonable oppor- Page 129 TITLE 29—LABOR § 482 tunity shall be given for the nomination of can- didates and every member in good standing shall be eligible to be a candidate and to hold office (subject to section 504 of this title and to rea- sonable qualifications uniformly imposed) and shall have the right to vote for or otherwise sup- port the candidate or candidates of his choice, without being subject to penalty, discipline, or improper interference or reprisal of any kind by such organization or any member thereof. Not less than fifteen days prior to the election no- tice thereof shall be mailed to each member at his last known home address. Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote. No member whose dues have been withheld by his employer for payment to such organization pur- suant to his voluntary authorization provided for in a collective bargaining agreement shall be declared ineligible to vote or be a candidate for office in such organization by reason of alleged delay or default in the payment of dues. The votes cast by members of each local labor orga- nization shall be counted, and the results pub- lished, separately. The election officials des- ignated in the constitution and bylaws or the secretary, if no other official is designated, shall preserve for one year the ballots and all other records pertaining to the election. The election shall be conducted in accordance with the con- stitution and bylaws of such organization inso- far as they are not inconsistent with the provi- sions of this subchapter. (f) Election of officers by convention of dele- gates; manner of conducting convention; preservation of records When officers are chosen by a convention of delegates elected by secret ballot, the conven- tion shall be conducted in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of the labor organiza- tion insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter. The officials designated in the constitution and bylaws or the secretary, if no other is designated, shall pre- serve for one year the credentials of the dele- gates and all minutes and other records of the convention pertaining to the election of officers. (g) Use of dues, assessments or similar levies, and funds of employer for promotion of can- didacy of person No moneys received by any labor organization by way of dues, assessment, or similar levy, and no moneys of an employer shall be contributed or applied to promote the candidacy of any per- son in any election subject to the provisions of this subchapter. Such moneys of a labor organi- zation may be utilized for notices, factual state- ments of issues not involving candidates, and other expenses necessary for the holding of an election. (h) Removal of officers guilty of serious mis- conduct If the Secretary, upon application of any member of a local labor organization, finds after hearing in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 that the constitution and by- laws of such labor organization do not provide an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct, such officer may be removed, for cause shown and after notice and hearing, by the members in good standing voting in a secret ballot, con- ducted by the officers of such labor organization in accordance with its constitution and bylaws insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter. (i) Rules and regulations for determining ade- quacy of removal procedures The Secretary shall promulgate rules and reg- ulations prescribing minimum standards and procedures for determining the adequacy of the removal procedures to which reference is made in subsection (h). (Pub. L. 86–257, title IV, § 401, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 532.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (h), ‘‘subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5’’ substituted for ‘‘the Administrative Procedure Act’’ on authority of Pub. L. 89–554, § 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first section of which enacted Title 5, Govern- ment Organization and Employees. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 86–257, title IV, § 404, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 535, provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this title [enact- ing this subchapter] shall become applicable— ‘‘(1) ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 14, 1959] in the case of a labor organization whose constitution and bylaws can lawfully be modi- fied or amended by action of its constitutional offi- cers or governing body, or ‘‘(2) where such modification can only be made by a constitutional convention of the labor organization, not later than the next constitutional convention of such labor organization after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 14, 1959], or one year after such date, whichever is sooner. If no such convention is held within such one-year period, the executive board or similar governing body empowered to act for such labor organization between conventions is empowered to make such interim constitutional changes as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this title [en- acting this subchapter].’’ § 482. Enforcement (a) Filing of complaint; presumption of validity of challenged election A member of a labor organization— (1) who has exhausted the remedies available under the constitution and bylaws of such or- ganization and of any parent body, or (2) who has invoked such available remedies without obtaining a final decision within three calendar months after their invocation, may file a complaint with the Secretary within one calendar month thereafter alleging the vio- lation of any provision of section 481 of this title (including violation of the constitution and by- laws of the labor organization pertaining to the election and removal of officers). The challenged election shall be presumed valid pending a final decision thereon (as hereinafter provided) and in the interim the affairs of the organization shall be conducted by the officers elected or in such other manner as its constitution and bylaws may provide.