Musicians Federation v. Wittstein, 379 U.S. 171 (1964)

American Federation of Musicians of the

United States and Canada v. Wittstein
No. 27

Argued November 16, 1964
Decided December 7, 1964
379 U.S. 171

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

Syllabus

Under a weighted voting system whereby delegates from each local of petitioner international union cast votes at its annual convention equal to the local’s membership (with a local’s total votes apportioned where delegates disagreed), a majority of the votes cast by less than one-half the delegates favored a dues increase. Respondent union members sued to nullify the increase, on the ground that weighted voting violated the requirement in § 101(a)(3) (B) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA) that a dues increase be approved by "majority vote of the delegates voting at a regular convention." The District Court rendered summary judgments for respondents, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that, under that provision, each delegate was entitled to but one vote, regardless of the number of members he represented.

Held: Section 101(a)(3)(B) of the LMRDA permits a weighted voting system under which delegates cast a number of votes equal to the membership of their local union. Pp. 175-183.

326 F.2d 26 reversed and remanded.