Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Encyclopedia
The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (also "LMRDA" of the "Landrum-Griffin Act"), is a United States
labor law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and their officials' relationships with employers.
During the middle and late 1950s, the labor movement was under intense Congressional scrutiny for corruption, racketeering, and other misconduct. Enacted in 1959 after revelations of corruption and undemocratic practices in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Longshoremen's Association
, United Mine Workers
and other unions received wide public attention, the Act requires unions to hold secret elections for local union offices on a regular basis and provides for review by the United States Department of Labor
of union
members' claims of improper election activity. Organized labor opposed the act because it strengthened the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
It was sponsored by Democrat Phil Landrum and Republican Robert P. Griffin
.
The LMRDA covers both workers and unions covered by the National Labor Relations Act
("Wagner Act") and workers and unions in the railroad and airline industries, who are covered by the Railway Labor Act
. The LMRDA does not, as a general rule, cover public sector employees, who are not covered by either the NLRA or the RLA. The LMRDA likewise does not displace state laws governing unions' relations with their members except to the extent that those state laws would conflict with federal law.
Congress also amended the National Labor Relations Act
, as part of the same piece of legislation that created the LMRDA, by tightening the Taft-Hartley Act
's prohibitions against secondary boycotts, prohibiting certain types of "hot cargo" agreements, under which an employer agreed to cease doing business with other employers, and empowered the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board
to seek an injunction
against a union that engages in recognitional picketing of an employer for more than thirty days without filing a petition for representation with the NLRB.
Union members may enforce their LMRDA rights through private lawsuit or, in some cases, through the US Department of Labor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and their officials' relationships with employers.
Background
After passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, the number of union victories in NLRB-conducted elections declined. During the 12-year administration of the Wagner Act, unions won victories in over 80 percent of elections. But in that first year after passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, unions only won around 70 percent of the representation elections conducted by the agency.During the middle and late 1950s, the labor movement was under intense Congressional scrutiny for corruption, racketeering, and other misconduct. Enacted in 1959 after revelations of corruption and undemocratic practices in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Longshoremen's Association
International Longshoremen's Association
The International Longshoremen's Association is a labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways...
, United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
and other unions received wide public attention, the Act requires unions to hold secret elections for local union offices on a regular basis and provides for review by the United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
of union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
members' claims of improper election activity. Organized labor opposed the act because it strengthened the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
It was sponsored by Democrat Phil Landrum and Republican Robert P. Griffin
Robert P. Griffin
Robert Paul Griffin was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court....
.
Overview
Important provisions of the law were as follows:- Unions had to hold secret elections, reviewable by the Department of Labor.
- Union members are protected against abuses by a bill of rights that includes guarantees of freedom of speech and periodic secret elections of officers.
- Bar members of the Communist PartyCommunist Party USAThe Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
and convicted felons from holding union office. - Require unions to submit annual financial reports to the DOL.
- Declare that every union officer must act as a fiduciary in handling the assets and conducting the affairs of the union.
- Limit the power of unions to put subordinate bodies in trusteeshipTrusteeshipTrusteeship may refer to*Trust law *Trusteeship *United Nations Trusteeship...
, a temporary suspension of democratic processes within a union. - Provide certain minimum standards before a union may expel or take other disciplinary action against a member of the union.
The LMRDA covers both workers and unions covered by the National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
("Wagner Act") and workers and unions in the railroad and airline industries, who are covered by the Railway Labor Act
Railway Labor Act
The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes as a means of resolving labor disputes...
. The LMRDA does not, as a general rule, cover public sector employees, who are not covered by either the NLRA or the RLA. The LMRDA likewise does not displace state laws governing unions' relations with their members except to the extent that those state laws would conflict with federal law.
Congress also amended the National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
, as part of the same piece of legislation that created the LMRDA, by tightening the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
's prohibitions against secondary boycotts, prohibiting certain types of "hot cargo" agreements, under which an employer agreed to cease doing business with other employers, and empowered the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
to seek an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against a union that engages in recognitional picketing of an employer for more than thirty days without filing a petition for representation with the NLRB.
Union members may enforce their LMRDA rights through private lawsuit or, in some cases, through the US Department of Labor.
See also
- US labor law
- National Labor Relations ActNational Labor Relations ActThe National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
, the "Wagner Act" of 1935 - Taft-Hartley ActTaft-Hartley ActThe Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
, 1947 - List of United States federal legislation