§ 481. — Terms of office and election procedures.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 29USC481]
TITLE 29--LABOR
CHAPTER 11--LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE PROCEDURE
SUBCHAPTER V--ELECTIONS
Sec. 481. Terms of office and election procedures
(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) of this
section.
(Pub. L. 86-257, title IV, Sec. 401, Sept. 14, 1959, 73 Stat. 532.)
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, Sec. 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first
section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Effective Date
Section 404 of Pub. L. 86-257 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].''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 482 of this title.
