Price v. Union Local 25

**Price v. Union Local 25: Court Limits Who Workers Can Sue Over Union Representation** This case involved a worker who sued both UNITE HERE Local 25 union and individual union officers, claiming the union failed to properly represent them. The worker alleged the union did not adequately handle their workplace issue, which is called a "duty of fair representation" claim. The court sided with the defendants and dismissed the case. The judge ruled that under federal labor law, workers can only sue the union as an organization when claiming poor representation – they cannot sue individual union officers personally for damages. Only the union itself can be held financially responsible for failing to properly represent its members. **What this means for workers:** If you believe your union has done a poor job representing you in a workplace dispute, you can still file a lawsuit – but only against the union organization itself. You cannot seek money damages from individual union leaders, officers, or representatives personally. This ruling clarifies that union officers have some legal protection from personal liability when performing their duties, even if workers disagree with how they handled representation. Workers must focus their legal claims on the union as an institution rather than targeting specific people within the union leadership.