Lobel Novins & Lamont - Arthur L. Fox

Experienced litigator who has represented unions, union reform caucuses and members, public interest organizations, and a federal agency, in the federal courts, before administrative agencies and arbitrators, and in collective bargaining negotiations. Associated with the DC‑based Public Citizen Litigation Group for 18 years and founder of the non‑profit, member advocacy organization to reform the Teamsters Union.

Specialize in labor relations (public and private) with emphasis on the internal affairs of unions, the democratic rights of members, and the union duty of fair representation. Served as outside general counsel of National Postal Mail Handlers Union, National Association of Air Traffic Specialists and a Fraternal Order of Police corrections unit, and appeared on behalf of many other unions in various legal proceedings before numerous federal courts, the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, state Public Employee Relations Boards, and arbitrators.

Handle wide variety of issues on behalf of institutional clients (unions and reform organizations), including corporate, governance, administrative, non‑profit tax, and contracts.

Nationally recognized expert on union democracy, internal union affairs, union constitutions and bylaws, and the Labor‑Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum‑Griffin Act), 29 U.S.C. § 401, et seq, particularly including free speech rights of members. Drafted, analyzed and critiqued numerous union governing instruments, as well as merger and affiliation agreements. Supervised the conduct of officer elections and referenda.

Represent numerous victims of union political repression. Successfully challenged union constitutional restraints on member free speech, unlawful trusteeships, and "engineered" union referenda, e.g., to ratify collective bargaining agreements, constitutional amendments, and merger/affiliation agreements. Responsible for seminal decision establishing union officer fiduciary standards in a complex case highlighted in Courting Change: The Story of the Public Citizen Litigation Group (2004) by Barbara Craig.

Initiated and participated actively in various agency rule‑making proceedings, principally involving workplace safety and health issues, and handled judicial challenges under the Administrative Procedure Act. Drafted, lobbied Congress, and obtained enactment of whistleblower statute both to protect commercial, interstate motor vehicle operators and to enforce federal truck safety regulations.

Listed in Who’s Who In American Law.

Employment History (Washington, D.C.):

1995‑present: Lobel, Novins & Lamont, LLP
1990‑1995: Kator, Scott & Heller
1972‑1990: Public Citizen Litigation Group
1968‑1972: National Labor Relations Board, Office of General Counsel (Appellate Court Division)

Education:

University of Virginia ‑‑ BA, 1965; LLB, 1968.

Publications:

Title IV's Never‑Never Land: When and How Victorious Insurgents Are To Be Installed in Union Office, 4 Hofstra Lab. L. J. 299 (Spring 1987).

The Burger Years, Viking Penguin, 1987; Chapter entitled, Showing Workers Who's Boss (awarded Silver Gavel by the Am. Bar Ass’n).

Section 301 And Exhaustion of Intra‑Union Appeals: A Misbegotten Marriage, 128 U. Pa. L. Rev. 989 (1980).

Teamster Democracy and Financial Responsibility, PROD, Inc., Washington, D.C. 1976, Lib. Cong. No. 76‑17788.

Professional Member/Affiliations:

District of Columbia and Virginia Bar Ass'ns.
Admitted: Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 11th and DC Circuits.
Board of Directors, Association for Union Democracy, 1977‑present.

Sampling of reported decisions (post-NLRB):

Bishop v. Iron Workers, 310 F.Supp.2d 33 (D.D.C. 2004), invalidating numerous constitutional restraints on union member free speech, including prohibitions on "inciting dissatisfaction or dissension," "slander," discussing union business or proceedings with non‑members, and fining members for the union's costs of defending against their lawsuits.

Callihan v. Plumbers, 169 LRRM 3085 (D.D.C. 2002), invalidating constitutional provision requiring expulsion of member guilty of transmitting "letters of falsehood" based on chilling effect on free speech.

Morris v. BLE, 165 F. Supp.2d 662 (N.D.Oh. 2001), enjoining "quickie" union merger referendum where opposing viewpoint could not be disseminated.

Ruocchio v. UTU, 181 F.3d 376 (3rd Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1154 (2000), successful free speech action to invalidate union constitutional restraint on member speech.

Thompson v. OPEIU, 74 F.3d 1492 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 993 (1996), complex case holding unlawful a union's use of trusteeship to suppress members' democratic rights and remove popular, elected official.

Theodus v. McLaughlin, 852 F.2d 1380 (D.C. Cir. 1988), and Teamsters for Democratic Union v. Dept. of Labor, 810 F.2d 301 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (unsuccessful campaign to require Labor Dept to adopt democratic procedures to govern Teamster elections ‑‑ procedures subsequently endorsed in a Washington Post editorial and later imposed by the Department of Justice in its RICO action).

Taylor v. NLRB, 786 F.2d 1516 (11th Cir. 1986) (successful challenge to NLRB policy of refusing to resolve statutory issues in deference to private arbitral process).

Knox County Local v. Rural Letter Carriers, 720 F.2d 936 (6th Cir. 1983) ("free speech" action which obtained member access to their union's exclusive media organ).

Professional Drivers Council v. Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, 706 F.2d 1216 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (review of Reagan Administration termination of rulemaking to reform commercial drivers' hours‑of‑service regulations).

Brink v. DaLesio, 667 F.2d 420 (4th Cir. 1981); 88 F.R.D. 610 (D.Md. 1980); 496 F. Supp. 1350 (D.Md. 1980); 82 F.R.D. 664 (D.Md. 1979); 453 F. Supp. 272 (D.Md.
(complex litigation which recovered $1.8 million from union officer and pension fund administrator for multitude of fiduciary violations under LMRDA and ERISA).

Barrentine v. Arkansas‑Best Freight, Inc., 450 U.S. 728 (1981); 615 F.2d 1194 (8th Cir. 1980) (action to require employers to compensate truckers for performing mandatory truck safety inspections).

Banyard v. NLRB, 505 F.2d 342 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (action to require NLRB to extend LMRA to protect right of truckers to refuse to drive dangerous and illegal rigs).