Harlan F. Stone

“ But construing the words of § 7 which provide that labor organizations 'functioning' in the state shall file the prescribed statements or eports, and the further requirement that every labor organization 'desiring to function' in Alabama shall, before doing so, file certain prescribed documents, petitioners attack the section as a licensing provision and assail its validity on the ground that as such it is a restraint upon their freedom of speech and assembly. ”

“ A further and conclusive ground for our declining to pass on the validity of § 16 is the ruling of the State Supreme Court that that section is inapplicable wherever it would otherwise 'interfere with or void any insurance contract now in existence and in force.' The record without disclosing the details shows that petitioners provide insurance benefits for their members as such, and that petitioner Jones is a member of petitioner United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and as a member is entitled to such benefits. ”

“ In considering this objection to § 7 the Supreme Court of Alabama did not elaborate on the meaning of the terms 'function' or 'functioning' as used in the statute. It indicated that they embrace the conduct of the business activities of labor organizations within the state, such as the assessment and collection of fines and dues, the collection of monies and their disbursement, the management of their property, the election of their officers and the appointment of their agents, and the maintenance and defense of suits in the courts. ”

“ A number of examples are given, such as union fees charged to non-union apprentices in return for their 'guidance and teaching' by union members, fees charged to non-union members for participation in the benefits of existing all-union collective bargaining contracts, fees charged for the transfer from one union to another pending admission to union membership in the latter, and the like. ”

“ It is said that in order to comply with the statute it would be necessary for each union, regardless of its size and finances, to hire public accountants or others with specialized knowledge of accounting practices and procedure, such as working men do not have, and that such a requirement is beyond constitutional power. ”

“ No officer or representative of the state is empowered by the terms of the section to grant or withhold a license authorizing a labor organization to function within the state. The State Supreme Court so held in this case. ”

“ A law which is constitutional as applied in one manner may, it is true, violate the Constitution when applied in another. Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649, 694-697, 12 S.Ct. 495, 505, 506, 36 L.Ed. 294; Dahnke-Walker Milling Co. ”