Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal Volume 9 | Issue 2 Article 2 1992 Effective Democracy and Formal Rights: Retaliatory Removals of Union Officials Under the LMRDA George Feldman Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlelj Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Feldman, George (1992) "Effective Democracy and Formal Rights: Retaliatory Removals of Union Officials Under the LMRDA," Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal: Vol. 9: Iss. 2, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlelj/vol9/iss2/2 This document is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Feldman: Effective Democracy and Formal Rights: Retaliatory Removals of Un EFFECTIVE DEMOCRACY AND FORMAL RIGHTS: RETALIATORY REMOVALS OF UNION OFFICIALS UNDER THE LMRDA George Feldman* INTRODUCTION This article is about union democracy. It argues that the re- moval from office of union officials in retaliation for their speaking or organizing against the policies of higher union leaders violates the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 19591 (the "LMRDA"). Emil Cehaich was a machinist for General Motors in Detroit. In 1975, when he had seven years of seniority, he was appointed by the union, the United Auto Workers, to be a benefits representative. As the collective bargaining agreement provided, Cehaich remained a GM employee and received his normal pay, but carried out his new duties during the work day.