Thomas v. Grand Lodge Intern. Assoc. of Machin., Civ. PJM 97-2001.

• Decision Date: 30 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. Civ. PJM 97-2001.,Civ. PJM 97-2001.
• Citation: 40 F.Supp.2d 737
• Parties: Keith THOMAS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The GRAND LODGE OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS, ("IAM"), et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

40 F.Supp.2d 737

Keith THOMAS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The GRAND LODGE OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS, ("IAM"), et al., Defendants.

No. Civ. PJM 97-2001.

United States District Court, D. Maryland, Southern Division.

March 30, 1999.

Andrew Rotstein, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, New York City, C. Christopher Brown, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, Baltimore, MD, for plaintiffs.

Helene Victoria Hedian, Abato, Rubenstein & Abato, Baltimore, MD, Gary S. Witlen, Upper Marlboro, MD, for defendants.

OPINION

MESSITTE, District Judge.

I.

In this action brought under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 ("LMRDA" or "the Act"), 29 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. (1988), members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) seek declaratory and injunctive relief with regard to the IAM's obligations under § 105 of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. § 415. The LMRDA guarantees labor union members certain rights, requires certain disclosures by unions and union officials and otherwise regulates union affairs. Section 105 provides that "every labor organization shall inform its members concerning the provisions" of the LMRDA. Plaintiffs contend that the statute requires the IAM to provide this information to its members on a continuing basis. Defendants' position is that the IAM's one-time provision of the information to its membership (as well as its continuing supplementation from time to time) satisfies the statute's requirements.

The matter is before the Court on the parties' Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment. The Court accepts Defendants' interpretation of the law and finds the IAM in compliance. Accordingly, it will grant Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and deny that of Plaintiffs.

II.

The parties agree that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the matter should be resolved by summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

III.

Plaintiffs Keith Thomas, David Smith, and Kelly Vandegrift have been members of the IAM since 1985, 1979 and 1979 respectively. All are employed by Boeing Aircraft Corporation at its Wichita, Kansas facility. All have served in various official positions with the union's Local Lodge 834 in Wichita.

Defendant IAM is a labor organization within the meaning of § 3 of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. § 402(i). Headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland, it represents workers of various skills, trades and occupations in, among others, the aircraft, machinery, automotive, agricultural implement, defense and appliance industries. It has approximately 500,000 members in the United States and Canada organized in some 1,500 local lodges and 124 district lodges. The IAM negotiates approximately 6,000 contracts with 7,000 employers.

Defendant George J. Kourpias is the International President of the IAM, Defendant Donald E. Wharton its General Secretary-Treasurer.

IV.

In 1959, in response to widely publicized hearings dealing with labor corruption, Congress enacted the LMRDA, also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act. See Wirtz v. Local 153, Glass Bottle Blowers Ass'n, 389 U.S. 463, 469-70, 88 S.Ct. 643, 19 L.Ed.2d 705 (1968). And see generally Aaron, The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, 73 Harv. L.Rev. 851 (1960). The Act establishes certain guarantees of union democracy and practices, literally a "Bill of Rights," including the right of union members to equal participation in union affairs, to free speech and association, to democratic procedures in raising union dues and other financial assessments, and the right to receive copies of collective bargaining agreements and financial reports, among numerous other entitlements. 29 U.S.C. § 411. Members are authorized to seek judicial relief for the enforcement of these rights. 29 U.S.C. §§ 2, 413.

When it became apparent that Landrum-Griffin would become law, the IAM undertook to comply with § 105 by publishing the entire text of the Act in The Machinist, its weekly publication of that era, sending the publication to all its members. Soon after, The Machinist carried an article discussing the newly promulgated financial disclosure, bonding and officer election provisions of the Act. In 1960, provisions concerning the rights of members to run for elective office and engage in campaign activities were published in the form of official circulars, printed in the newspaper, and sent to all members. In the same year, the IAM's Constitution was amended to comply with the Act and since that time has been periodically amended at IAM conventions to incorporate changes the union has deemed mandated by court decisions interpreting the Act. From time to time, official circulars clarifying union policy in light of developing law under the Act have also been distributed. According to the IAM, many of the Act's provisions are incorporated in materials utilized in its training courses and in particular comprise part of a publication entitled "We Are The IAM," an introductory booklet supplied to the IAM's new members.

Against this background, on July 24, 1996, Plaintiff Thomas sent a letter to Defendants Kourpias and Wharton stating his belief that the IAM was in violation of § 105 in that it had failed to inform its members of the provisions of the LMRDA. In Thomas' view, because the IAM had not done so for so many years, a substantial majority of current IAM members had never received such information. Thomas further stated his opinion that the interests of the IAM and its members would be served if the union would inform its members of the provisions of the Act, particularly if it would do so for its new members on a continuing basis. For 11 months following the receipt of Thomas' letter, Defendants took no action to comply with this request, holding no hearing nor providing any other internal union remedy or procedure to address Thomas' concern.¹ This suit followed.

V.

In addition to the Bill of Rights previously discussed, the LMDRA assures that union members shall have access to certain critical information. Among other things, a union must provide copies of collective bargaining agreement "to any employee who requests such a copy and whose rights as such employee are directly affected by such agreement." 29 U.S.C. § 414.

The union must also file with the Secretary of Labor a copy of its constitution and by-laws, together with a report pertaining to, among other things, the names of union officials, initiation fees, dues, and qualifications for membership. 29 U.S.C. § 431(a). Additionally, the union must file an annual financial report with the Secretary of Labor, 29 U.S.C. § 431(b). The Act requires that the union "shall make [this information] available ... to all of its members." 29 U.S.C. § 431(c).

In similar vein, union officers and employees must file annual disclosure statements describing income received and transactions engaged in by the individuals, spouse, or child, 29 U.S.C. § 432, which must be made available as public information "on the request of any person," 29 U.S.C. § 435(b).

Enveloping these requirements is Section 105, codified as 29 U.S.C. § 415, which is at the heart of this case and which provides that "every labor organization shall inform its members concerning" all provisions of the Act. As indicated, the issue before the Court is whether the words "shall inform" mean that the union must do so continuously or whether one-time compliance and occasional updating will suffice. In other words, is every new member of the union required to be informed of the entire Act as he or she attains membership? Are existing members entitled to be continuously informed of changes in the law?

Plaintiffs argue that the LMRDA created a political order of union democracy, ethical practices and member enforcement and that continuous enforcement of § 105 is essential to effectuating these goals.

Defendants believe the IAM met its obligation under § 105 when it mailed a complete copy of the new statute to each of its members in 1959, and add for good measure that, since that time, the IAM has continued to provide its membership with appropriate information regarding their rights under the Act on a more or less regular basis.

VI.

There is no fixed order of canons for interpreting statutes in federal practice. Courts are directed to look first at the plain meaning of the text, see e.g. Chisom v. Roemer, 501 U.S. 380, 405, 111 S.Ct. 2354, 115 L.Ed.2d 348 (1991) (Scalia, J. dissenting) ("We are to read the words of that text as any ordinary Member of Congress would have read them"), a point at which some judges would ordinarily prefer to stop. See, e.g., United Steelworkers of America, AFL — CIO-CLC v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 221, 99 S.Ct. 2721, 61 L.Ed.2d 480 (1979) (Burger, J. dissenting) ("... without even a break in syntax, the Court rejects a `literal construction of [the statute]' in favor of newly discovered `legislative history'"). Other judges, no doubt a majority, proceed directly beyond the words of the statute to examine the legislative history of the provision, which invariably includes inquiry into the purposes of the legislation. See, e.g., Milwaukee Brewery Workers' Pension Plan v. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co., 513 U.S. 414, 115 S.Ct. 981, 130 L.Ed.2d 932 (1995) (Breyer, J.) (relying upon the language of the statute, its legislative history, and purpose).

Wherever one may come down on the interpretative spectrum, the plain meaning rule offers no guidance in the present case. It is no more evident from the words the union "shall inform its members concerning the provisions" of the Act that the action must occur continuously than it is that the informing need only take place on a single occasion.

VII.

Legislative history provides no greater insight.

The parties concede that history is silent as to precisely what § 105 means. There are no reported cases which substantively interpret the...