Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/257

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Cite as: 502 U. S. 93 (1991)

99

Opinion of the Court

limited to suits brought by a party to that contract, i. e., because one in petitioner’s position may properly bring such a suit.4 The first of the two requirements is governed in part by Plumbers and Pipefitters v. Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 334, 452 U. S. 615 (1981). In that case a local union sued the international union of which it was a part. The claim was that the international had violated a specific provision of its own constitution by ordering the consolidation of nine local unions into two. The issue was whether that constitution was a contract between labor organizations within the meaning of § 301. Since union constitutions were at the time of enactment of Taft-Hartley (and remain) probably the most commonplace form of contract between labor organizations, we concluded that Congress would not likely have used the unqualified term “contract” without intending to encompass union constitutions. Id., at 624. Certainly Congress could conclude that the enforcement of the terms of union constitutions would contribute to labor stability, and that § 301 should be enacted to provide “federal jurisdiction for enforcement of contracts made by labor organizations to counteract jurisdictional defects in many state courts that made it difficult or impossible to bring suits against labor organizations by reason of their status as unincorporated organizations.” Ibid. (emphasis in original). affirmative, but only if it is charged that the breach alleged violates a contract between two labor organizations. 4 Of course, for petitioner to bring suit, he must have personal standing. As the case comes to us, however, the sole issue is whether a suit by a union member alleging a violation of a contract between two unions is within the subject-matter jurisdiction conferred by § 301. Petitioner’s standing to bring the suit is not disputed before this Court.