Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, and Peter Turner, Intervenor-Appellee v. Sailors' Union of the Pacific

The Sailors’ Union of the Pacific conducted an election of officers from December 1, 1981 to January 31, 1982. Under the union’s constitution, only those individuals who had been union members for three years or more were permitted to run for office or vote. Turner protested the election results by writing a letter to the President of the union. Approximately four months later, he filed a complaint with the Secretary of Labor under section 402(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. 29 U.S.C. § 482 (a). The Secretary filed suit under the Act to challenge the union’s voting and candidate eligibility requirements and the election results. The district court held that the three-year membership requirement was unreasonable and invalidated the election results. We affirm.

TIMELINESS OF COMPLAINT

The union argues that Turner’s complaint to the Secretary was not timely. 29 U.S.C. § 482 (a) provides that a union member:

The union constitution does not expressly provide for a procedure which members may use to challenge election results. Article XIII, section 10 provides that the Balloting Committee must submit an election report to the membership which, if…