Conille v. AFSMCE Council 93

In this case between a union and a union member, a trial court held that a provision in the union constitution, which gave disproportionate representation to small locals, violated the member’s equal right to vote under the Union Members’ Bill of Rights in Title I Landrum-Griffin Act. The court of appeals reversed, holding that because the Title I claim pertained to elections, it could be pursued only via a complaint to the Secretary of Labor under Title IV of the Act. The plaintiff filed a petition for rehearing. Representing the Association for Union Democracy as amicus curiae supporting rehearing, Public Citizen filed an amicus brief arguing that Congress deliberately provided an equal right to vote in Title I, enforceable through suits by union members, in addition to the rights and procedures provided by Title IV and that the court of appeals’ decision essentially nullified that express statutory right.