Ray Marshall, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor v. Local Union 12447, United Steelworkers of America, Afl-Cio

OPINION OF THE COURT

GARTH, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires us to interpret Section 401(b) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 29 U.S.C. § 481(b) (1976), which provides for the election by secret ballot of local union officers. 1 Unfortunately, section 3(k) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 402(k) (1976) which defines “secret ballot” does not provide the answer to all the questions raised by that term, including the question presented by this appeal. In this case, although facilities for a secret ballot were provided, no requirement for their use was imposed by the defendant union.…