Opinion ID: 347564
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The law of equal representation

Text: 13 Section 302 was enacted to prevent the possible abuse by union officials of the power which they might achieve if welfare funds were left to their sole control. Arroyo v. United States, 359 U.S. 419, 425-26, 79 S.Ct. 864, 868, 3 L.Ed.2d 915 (1959); accord, United Marine Div. v. Essex Transp. Co., 216 F.2d 410, 412 (3d Cir. 1954); Moyer v. Kirkpatrick, 265 F.Supp. 348 (E.D.Pa.1967), aff'd 387 F.2d 955 (3d Cir. 1968) (per curiam). Since the governing trust agreement usually delegates broad powers and discretion to the trustees, it is conceivable that the exercise of such powers may involve important questions of policy or judgment on which union and employer trustees may well differ. Goetz, note 7 supra, 55 Cornell L.Rev. at 922. The requirement that employers and employees be equally represented in the joint administration of trust funds is thus central to the Congressional scheme set forth in section 302. Any amendment to a trust fund agreement which even slightly restructures the representation of employers and employees in the fund administration must be carefully scrutinized, not merely for technical compliance with the statutory standard but for meaningful adherence to the Congressional command. Only by subjecting the amendments here at issue to such scrutiny can we eliminate erosion of the thoughtful safeguards Congress built into this social legislation. 14 Our task is to examine the challenged amendments not only in their present form but, more importantly, as to their probable future effect. The question we must pose is whether the amendments, if allowed to stand, will permit union control of the carefully guarded structure which houses the fair and sound administration of trust funds. Some courts and commentators have concluded that the goal of equal representation in the administration and control of trust funds is defeated if the union in any degree participates in the choice of employer representatives, Quad City Bldrs. Assoc. v. Tri City Bricklayers Union No. 7, 431 F.2d 999 (8th Cir. 1970); Blassie v. Kroger Co., 345 F.2d 58 (1965); that the equal representation clause is violated by any arrangement which creates the possibility of union domination, Quad City Bldrs. Assoc., supra ; and, indeed, that the essence of equal representation is that each side have veto power on any proposed action. Goetz, Employee Benefit Trusts Under Section 302 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 59 Nw.L.Rev. 719, 747-50 (1965). We agree with such views. If we determine that the arrangements challenged in the case sub judice violate these principles of equal representation, they cannot be saved by BTEA's claim to representation on the Funds because of its contributions to them: not every party contributing to a welfare and pension fund has a right to select the fund's trustees. See, e. g., Blassie v. Kroger Co., supra; Local 169, Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Teamsters Health & Welfare Board, 327 F.Supp. 260 (E.D.Pa.1971); Goetz, supra, 59 Nw.L.Rev. at 747. 15 The district court's entry of partial summary judgment on the equal representation claim was predicated on its finding that no instances of union abuse of the trust funds have been shown by plaintiffs. We believe, however, that partial summary judgment cannot be based on such a finding. The question before the district court was not whether there had been union abuse of the trust funds under the amendments, or even whether there would be, but rather whether union domination of the fund is a very real possibility. Quad City Bldrs. Assoc. v. Tri City Bricklayers Union No. 7, 302 F.Supp. 1031, 1035 (S.D.Ia.1969) aff'd and quoted in, Quad Bldrs. Assoc., supra, 431 F.2d at 1003. Inherent in such domination is the possibility of abuse which section 302 was enacted to prevent. Id. at 1035. If the amendments here at issue create the potential of abuse by effectively placing the union in a position of control or dominance, they cannot be allowed to stand, even if the union's conduct thus far has been irreproachable. Section 302 is designed to prevent future misconduct, not merely to remedy past misdeeds. Quad City Bldrs. Assoc., supra; Local No. 2, Operative Plasterers v. Paramount Plastering, Inc., 310 F.2d 179 (9th Cir. 1962); United Marine Div. v. Essex Transp. Co., supra.