Local Union No. 38 v. Pelella

The majority construes the phrase “to institute an action” in section 101(a)(4) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(4), as meaning only to file a complaint, and not to assert a counterclaim. This reading has two consequences. First, under this reading, the section’s second proviso does not bar counterclaims financed by interested employers. Second, this reading means that section 101(a)(4) gives a union member no protection against being disciplined by a union for asserting a counterclaim. Because I do not think that the majority’s reading is…