Wirtz v. LOCAL UNIONS NO. 9, 9-A & 9-B, INT. U. OF OP. ENG.
| Decision Date | 04 March 1965 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 8325. |
| Citation | 254 F. Supp. 980 |
| Parties | W. Willard WIRTZ, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL UNIONS NO. 9, 9-A and 9-B, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Lawrence M. Henry, U. S. Atty. for District of Colorado, by David I. Shedroff, Asst. U. S. Atty., and Henry C. Mahlman, Attorney for United States Department of Labor, Denver, Colo., for plaintiff.
Williams, Erickson & Brown, Wayne D. Williams and Howard E. Erickson, Denver, Colo., and Theodore J. St. Antoine, of Woll, Mayer, & St. Antoine, Washington, D. C., for defendant.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW PURSUANT TO RULE 52, F.R.Civ.P.
This is an action brought by plaintiff under Title IV of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, (73 Stat. 519 et seq., 29 U.S.C. § 401 et seq., (1958 ed. Supp. IV)), hereinafter referred to as the Act, to set aside an election of officers. Upon the uncontroverted facts established at the Pre-Trial Conference, the stipulations submitted by the parties, and the testimony and evidence adduced at a trial to the Court on November 24 and 25, 1964, and being duly advised in the premises, the Court makes the following:
Findings of Fact
1. This civil action seeks to set aside an election of officers held by defendant, a labor organization engaged in an industry affecting commerce, on June 12, 1963, at Denver, Colorado. This election was conducted subject to the constitution of the International Union of Operating Engineers and defendant's bylaws.
2. An internal protest regarding this election was filed with the International Union of Operating Engineers on July 8, 1963, by Vern L. Taylor, Sr., who was at that time a member in good standing of defendant labor organization. Mr. Taylor received a final decision from the said International Union denying his protest on September 24, 1963.
3. On October 2, 1963, Mr. Taylor filed a written complaint with the Secretary of Labor, challenging the conduct of this election. The complaint of Mr. Taylor alleged that he had been ruled ineligible under defendant's constitution and bylaws, to be a candidate for the office of Financial Secretary which he sought in the challenged election, and that he had been wrongfully excluded from candidacy for that office.
4. Mr. Taylor was declared ineligible under a provision of the International constitution requiring that a candidate for office shall have paid his quarterly dues in advance, on or before the first day of each quarter, during the entire year preceding the election.
5. The aforesaid requirement, making a man ineligible to run for office if he paid his dues even one day late on one occasion, is a surprising one, and one that is not designed to accomplish the purpose of limiting the officer group to persons who are intensely interested in the activities of the union.
6. A substantial number of the members of defendant labor organization are engaged in construction work and are subject to seasonal fluctuations in employment; many of these people are out of work during the winter months preceding the election.
7. The requirement that a union member pay his dues on or before the first day of each quarter, without any grace period, works a hardship on persons who are out of work.
8. Under the aforesaid requirement, approximately 87% of the members of defendant organization were ineligible to be candidates for office in the challenged election.
9. During the year preceding the election, Mr. Taylor had in fact made all payments of his dues to defendant labor organization during and before the end of each quarter, thereby fulfilling all current dues payment requirements. At all times during said year, Mr. Taylor was a member in good standing of defendant labor organization for purposes of employment referral and representation, voice and vote in its affairs, and rights to insurance benefits under its death benefits plan.
10. Acting upon Mr. Taylor's complaint, the Secretary of Labor caused an investigation to be made of the challenged election, and as a result thereof found probable cause to believe that violations of Title IV of the Act (29 U.S.C. § 481 et seq.) had occurred in the conduct of the challenged election.
11. Notice of this election and ballots to be voted therein were mailed by third-class mail to all of defendant's members, with the exception of 141 members whose mail had previously been returned to defendant by reason of incorrect home address. There was no evidence that the mailing of such notice and ballots to the aforesaid 141 members would have had any effect.
On the basis of these findings, the Court has reached the following:
Conclusions of Law
1. The Court has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this action.
2. The scope of the relief the Secretary of Labor can secure by this...
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Brock v. International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots
... ... 37(b), the Secretary referred to two cases, Wirtz v. Local Unions No. 9, 9-A ... and 9-B, ... ...
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Wirtz v. LOCAL UNIONS NO. 406, 406-A, 406-B AND 406-C, Civ. A. No. 14573.
...is even one day late on one occasion within the twelve months preceding the election. See Wirtz v. Local Union No. 9, International Union of Operating Engineers, 254 F.Supp. 980 (D.C.Colo., 1965). Defendant's members do not lose their good standing as members of the union by failing to make......
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