Number: 18-05
September 30, 2005
Officer Election Advisory for Unions in Areas Affected by Hurricane Katrina
Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) issues this advisory regarding the union officer election requirements under Title IV of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). OLMS recognizes that due to the property damage and destruction inflicted by the storm and evacuations from the affected areas, it may be difficult or impossible for some unions to conduct timely union officer elections. Therefore, OLMS issues this advisory for those unions whose principal office is located in the affected areas (see below), or a significant portion of whose members are located in those areas.
Unions located in these designated areas should make a good faith effort to conduct elections as required under the LMRDA. The failure to hold an election is an ongoing violation of the LMRDA. OLMS has jurisdiction to file a civil enforcement action concerning a failure to hold a timely election only after receipt of a complaint from a union member who has first sought a remedy from his or her union.
However, due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, if OLMS receives a complaint regarding a union’s failure to hold an election that should have been held between August 29, 2005 and December 30, 2005, but was delayed because of the Hurricane, OLMS will promptly seek a voluntary compliance agreement with the union to hold the election on a future date certain. OLMS will not seek a civil enforcement action based on the complaint, provided the election is held in conformance with the agreement.
This advisory covers unions whose principal office or a significant portion of whose members are located in the following:
Alabama: the counties of Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Sumter, and Washington
Florida: the counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe
Louisiana: the parishes of Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, La Salle, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn
Mississippi: the counties of Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, and Yazoo.
Thank you for subscribing to the OLMS Mailing List. We hope that you find this mailing informative.
Last Updated: 10/03/05