Usery v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots

422 F. Supp. 1221, 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2274, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16093
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 17, 1976
DocketNo. 72 Civ. 5031
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 422 F. Supp. 1221 (Usery v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Usery v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, 422 F. Supp. 1221, 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2274, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16093 (S.D.N.Y. 1976).

Opinion

MOTLEY, District Judge.

MEMORANDUM OPINION ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This action was brought by the Secretary of Labor of the United States Department of Labor pursuant to Section 402 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), 29 U.S.C. § 482. In the complaint, plaintiff alleges that the defendant union during the course of its 1971 election of officers committed various violations of Section 401 of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. § 481, which therefore require that the election be overturned. Accordingly, the complaint asks that this court void the 1971 election of officers of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots (“IOMM & P”) and order a new election subject to the supervision of the Secretary of Labor.

While the complaint alleges a number of violations of 29 U.S.C. § 481, for purposes of the instant motion for summary judgment plaintiff has limited consideration to five claimed violations:

1) The preparation and August 19, 1971 mailing by the IOMM & P of the “60th Convention Newsletter on the Resolution of Affiliation of the IOMM & P with the ILA” (“Newsletter”), which plaintiff contends constituted campaign literature prepared in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 481(g) and distributed in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 481(c);

2) The preparation and November 26, 1971 mailing by the IOMM & P of another [1223]*1223document entitled “All Constitutional Amendments and Resolution of the 60th Convention Ratified — Affiliation of IOMM & P as the International Maritime Division of the ILA (AFL-CIO) Affirmed,” which plaintiff similarly contends to be campaign literature distributed in violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 481(c) and 481(g);

3) The election procedure followed in the 1971 election of the IOMM & P Offshore Division Vice-Presidents for the Atlantic and Gulf areas, which allegedly, in violation of various provisions in 29 U.S.C. § 481(e), prohibited many members in the Offshore Division’s Atlantic and Gulf areas from participating in any way in the selection of said two Vice-Presidents;

4) The failure to mail ballots within 30 days after the close of nominations for the International and Offshore Division offices in the 1971 action, contrary to Article V, Section 8(d) of the IOMM & P Constitution, and therefore contrary to 29 U.S.C. § 481(e) of the LMRDA which provides that an “election shall be conducted in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of [the labor union] insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter;” and

5) The failure on the part of Local 88 (now the Port of New York) to comply with its bylaw that “[a] certified mailing list of all members of Local 88 shall be made available at cost to all candidates, provided however that any postage charges shall not be billed to this organization,” which, if proven, also constitutes a 29 U.S.C. § 481(e) violation, as in item 4 above.

Defendant in turn has itself moved for summary judgment or, in the alternative, for partial summary judgment. The union’s independent motion for summary judgment seeks to dismiss the complaint on the ground that it is moot, in view of the intervening election conducted by the defendant in 19741 and the facts and circumstances surrounding such election. This is also the position taken by amici curiae Frank T. Scavo, Gerald Johnson and Timothy Brown, who, as candidates in the 1974 election, challenged the incumbents who had been elected in 1971, with the result that Scavo and Johnson replaced such incumbents in the position of President and Executive Vice-President of the IOMM & P.

Defendant’s alternative motion for partial summary judgment seeks dismissal of certain alleged violations of 29 U.S.C. § 481 described in the plaintiff’s complaint, but not urged by him in his motion for summary judgment currently under consideration. In addition, defendant has cross moved for summary judgment as to the violation alleged to have occurred in connection with the 1971 election of the IOMM & P Offshore Division Vice-Presidents for the Atlantic and Gulf areas.

For the reasons set out below, this court has decided to grant plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, thereby voiding the 1971 election of IOMM & P officers, and accordingly orders that a new election be held under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor. Defendant’s motions are in effect thereby mooted. In reaching this conclusion, the court has had to make a series of preliminary determinations which will now be considered seriatim.

Exhaustion of Remedies

A threshold question raised by defendant is whether or not union members who complained to the Secretary of Labor regarding the 1971 election, thereby triggering this action, properly fulfilled the exhaustion of remedies requirements set out in 29 U.S.C. § 482. Section 482(a) requires a complaining union member to file his complaint with the Secretary within one month of having exhausted remedies available under the constitution and bylaws of the union or within one month after invoking the available remedies without obtaining a final decision within three months after their initial invocation. In the instant case, 16 complaining members, through their attorney, Burton Hall, wrote to the General Executive Board, the final appellate body of the union, setting forth their complaints on [1224]*1224January 19, 1972. The General Executive Board met on January 25 and 26, 1972 to consider these appeals, and by letter of February 29, 1972, postmarked that date and received March 2, 1972, the union advised the complaining members through Burton Hall that their appeals had been denied on January 26, 1972. The members thereafter filed their complaints with the Secretary on March 29, 1972, within one month of the mailing and receipt of the February 29, 1972 letter.

Defendant now contends that the complaints should have been filed with the Secretary by February 26, 1972, one month after the actual decision by the General Executive Board. Defendant alleges that the complainants were aware that the General Executive Board was meeting on January 25 and 26, and therefore implies that they knew or should have known that some action was taken on their complaints at that time. Defendant does not allege that complainants actually were notified.

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Bluebook (online)
422 F. Supp. 1221, 92 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2274, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16093, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/usery-v-international-organization-of-masters-mates-pilots-nysd-1976.