Fort v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL

# Fort v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ## What Happened Union members sued AFSCME (a major public sector union) claiming the union violated its contract by failing to hold disciplinary hearings for them in a timely manner. The workers wanted the court to order the union to conduct these hearings quickly and fairly. ## What the Court Decided A federal appeals court sided with the union, upholding a lower court's decision to dismiss the case entirely. The court rejected the workers' requests for the union to be forced to hold prompt hearings, and ruled against providing any other court relief. ## Why This Matters This ruling limits what union members can do if their union doesn't follow its own procedures for disciplinary cases. Workers generally cannot take their union to court over procedural delays in internal union matters. This means union members must resolve these disputes through the union's own internal processes rather than seeking help from the courts.