Opinion ID: 683061
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Voting Rights under Sec. 411.

Text: 24 Alternatively, Canez argues that the right of union members to vote, guaranteed by 29 U.S.C. Sec. 411(a)(1), required a vote of the general membership on his discipline. The provision states: Every member of a labor organization shall have equal rights and privileges ... to nominate candidates, to vote in elections or referendums ... subject to reasonable rules and regulations in such organization's constitution and bylaws. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 411(a)(1). 25 The first issue is whether the union membership should have voted on the Local Executive Board action of August 10. Because the Hearings Panel found that the Board had properly acted in an emergency, its action was not subject to rules of Trial Board proceedings. Therefore there was no requirement of a general union membership vote. 26 Second, Canez challenges the Local Constitution itself. He asserts that the procedure by which charges are referred to the General President violates Sec. 411(a)(1) because it denies the union membership the right to vote on important issues. 27 None of the cases Canez relies on suggest that the union's procedure for charging officers violates Sec. 411. The Supreme Court has stated that the relevant inquiry is whether the voting procedure at issue is reasonable. United Steelworkers of America v. Sadlowski, 457 U.S. 102, 111 (1982) (White, J., dissenting). Local's procedure for charging and trying officers is reasonable on its face because it allows the General President to step in when the Local membership is biased. None of the cases Canez cites challenges this common-sense view. 28