[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR452.40]

[Page 181]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
  CHAPTER IV--OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT STANDARDS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 452_GENERAL STATEMENT CONCERNING THE ELECTION PROVISIONS OF THE 
LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959--Table of Contents
 
        Subpart E_Candidacy for Office; Reasonable Qualifications
 
Sec. 452.40  Prior office holding.

    A requirement that candidates for office have some prior service in 
a lower office is not considered reasonable. \26\
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    \26\ Wirtz v. Hotel, Motel and Club Employees Union, Local 6, 391 
U.S. 492 at 504. The Court stated that the union, in applying such a 
rule, ``* * * assumes that rank and file union members are unable to 
distinguish qualified from unqualified candidates for particular offices 
without a demonstration of a candidate's performance in other offices. 
But Congress' model of democratic elections was political elections in 
this Country, and they are not based on any such assumption. Rather, in 
those elections the assumption is that voters will exercise common sense 
and judgment in casting their ballots. Local 6 made no showing that 
citizens assumed to make discriminating judgments in public elections 
cannot be relied on to make such judgments when, voting as union members 
* * *.''
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