29 U.S.C. § 481

Terms of office and election procedures

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(a) Officers of national or international labor organizations; manner of election

Every national or international labor organization, except a federation of national or international labor organizations, shall elect its officers not less often than once every five years either 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 literature; civil action for enforcement; jurisdiction; inspection of membership lists; adequate safeguards to insure fair election

Every national or international labor organization, except a federation of national or international 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 organization 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 campaign literature in aid of such person’s candidacy to all members in good standing of such labor organization and to refrain from discrimination in favor of or against any candidate with respect to the use of lists of members, and whenever such labor organizations or its officers authorize 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 distribution at the request of any other bona fide candidate 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 containing the names and last known addresses of all members of the labor organization who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement requiring membership therein as a condition of employment, which list shall be maintained and kept at the principal office of such labor organization by a designated official thereof. Adequate safeguards to insure a fair election shall be provided, including the right of any candidate to have an observer at the polls and at the counting of the ballots.

(d) Officers of intermediate bodies; manner of election

Officers of intermediate bodies, such as general 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 publication of results; preservation of ballots and records

In any election required by this section which is to be held by secret ballot a reasonable opportunity shall be given for the nomination of candidates 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 reasonable qualifications uniformly imposed) and shall have the right to vote for or otherwise support 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 notice 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 pursuant 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 organization shall be counted, and the results published, separately. The election officials designated 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 constitution and bylaws of such organization insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter.

(f) Election of officers by convention of delegates; manner of conducting convention; preservation of records

When officers are chosen by a convention of delegates elected by secret ballot, the convention shall be conducted in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of the labor organization 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 preserve for one year the credentials of the delegates 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 candidacy 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 person in any election subject to the provisions of this subchapter. Such moneys of a labor organization may be utilized for notices, factual statements of issues not involving candidates, and other expenses necessary for the holding of an election.

(h) Removal of officers guilty of serious misconduct

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 bylaws 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, conducted 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 adequacy of removal procedures

The Secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations 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 NotesCodification

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, Government Organization and Employees.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Pub. L. 86–257, title IV, § 404, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 535, provided that: “The provisions of this title [enacting 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 modified or amended by action of its constitutional officers 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 [enacting this subchapter].”

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 536 cases (34 in the last 5 years), 1960–2026 · leading case: Buffalow v. Bull, 619 S.W.2d 913 (Mo. Ct. App. 1981).

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Buffalow v. Bull, 619 S.W.2d 913 (Mo. Ct. App. 1981). · cites it 23× “In pursuit of this course, 29 U.S.C. § 481 is captioned “Terms of office und election procedures’’, and subsections (h) and (i), which are the only subsections touching upon the removal of officers, read as follows: “Removal of officers guilty of serious misconduct (h) If the…”

Local No. 82, Furniture & Piano Moving, Furniture Store Drivers, Helpers, Warehousemen & Packers v. Crowley, 467 U.S. 526 (1984). · cites it 6× “[1] The union is governed by a seven-member executive board whose officers, pursuant to § 401(b) of the LMRDA, 29 U. S. C. § 481 (b), must be chosen by election no less than once every three years.”

Ray Marshall, Sec'y of Labor v. Local Union 20, Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of Com., 611 F.2d 645 (6th Cir. 1979). · cites it 12× “The Secretary contends that candidate Leu received employer campaign contributions barred by LMRDA § 401(g), 29 U.S.C. § 481 (g). The district court, finding that certain campaign contributions violated the Act and affected the outcome, declared the election void and ordered…”

Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677 (1979). · cites it 2× “" 29 U. S. C. § 481 (e). [10] In National Railroad Passenger Corp.”

Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821 (1985). · cites it 2× “Dunlop involved a suit by a union employee, under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 29 U. S. C. § 481 et seq. (LMRDA), asking the Secretary of Labor to investigate and file suit to set aside a union election.”

United Steelworkers of Am. v. Sadlowski, 457 U.S. 102 (1982). · cites it 4× “Staff employees are forbidden by § 401(g) of the LMRDA, 29 U. S. C. § 481 (g), and by internal USWA rules to campaign on union time or to use union funds, facilities, or equipment for campaign purposes.”

Wirtz v. Nat'l Mar. Union of Am., 284 F. Supp. 47 (S.D.N.Y. 1968). · cites it 21× “, 29 U.S.C. § 481 (a) and (e). 2 His investigation resulted from complaints filed by four members of NMU who had exhausted their remedies within the union and, within one calendar month thereafter, had filed complaints with the Secretary alleging violations of the LMRDA.”

Harrington v. Chao, 280 F.3d 50 (1st Cir. 2002). · cites it 6× “” 29 U.S.C. § 481 (d). In the Statement of Reasons, the Secretary noted that NERC’s bylaws invested it with some of the powers and functions that the union’s locals previously possessed, but that this was insufficient ground upon which to regard NERC as a local rather than as an…”

Int'l Org. of Masters, Mates & Pilots v. Brown, 498 U.S. 466 (1991). · cites it 6× “532 , 29 U. S. C. § 481 (c). 4 In his complaint, respondent alleged that the con *471 vention was scheduled to begin on August 22 and that he wanted “to encourage the membership to.”

Chao v. Local 54, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union, 166 F. Supp. 2d 109 (D.N.J. 2001). · cites it 10× “29 U.S.C. § 481 (e). The Secretary further alleges that Local 54 failed to make “reasonable efforts” to maintain a current list of its members’ home addresses for purposes of mailing notice of election as required by Labor Department regulations.”

United States v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 931 F.2d 177 (2d Cir. 1991). · cites it 4× “VIII, § 2; Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), Section 401(c), 29 U.S.C. § 481 (c) (1988). The IBT objected to the limited release, while amicus TDU argued that candidates should have unlimited access to the membership lists.”

Local 3489, United Steelworkers of Am. v. Usery, 429 U.S. 305 (1977). · cites it 4× “he Secretary alleged that a provision of the Steelworkers' International constitution, binding on the Local, that limits eligibility for local union office to members who have attended at least one-half of the regular meetings of the Local for three years previous to the…”

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— 29 U.S.C. § 481(b) — 1 case

Herman v. Local Lodge 197, Int'l Bhd. of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers, 976 F. Supp. 129 (N.D.N.Y. 1997).

— 29 U.S.C. § 481(e) — 6 cases

Peter J. Brennan, Sec'y of Labor v. Local 5724, United Steelworkers of Am., Afl-Cio, & United Steelworkers of Am., Afl-Cio, 489 F.2d 884 (6th Cir. 1973).

Gordon v. Laborers' Int'l Union of North Am., 490 F.2d 133 (10th Cir. 1973).

Boling v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers, 224 F. Supp. 18 (E.D. Tenn. 1963).

Harvey v. Calhoon, 221 F. Supp. 545 (S.D.N.Y. 1963).

Driscoll v. Int'l Union of Operating Engineers, 484 F.2d 682 (7th Cir. 1973).

— 29 U.S.C. § 481(g) — 2 cases

United States v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 981 F. Supp. 222 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).

United States v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 989 F. Supp. 468 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).

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