Clyde Summers
Encyclopedia
Clyde Wilson Summers was an American
lawyer
and educator who is best known for his work in advocating more democratic procedures in labor unions
. He helped write the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
of 1959 (also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act) and was highly influential in the field of labor law
, authoring more than 150 publications on the issue of union democracy alone. He was considered the nation's leading expert on union democracy. "What Louis Brandeis
was to the field of privacy law, Clyde Summers is to the field of union democracy," wrote Widener University School of Law
professor Michael J. Goldberg in the summer of 2010. "Summers, like Brandeis, provided the theoretical foundation for an important new field of law."
, on November 21, 1918. His parents were farmers, and the Summers family moved to Colorado
; South Dakota
; and Tecumseh, Nebraska
, before settling in Winchester, Illinois
, in 1929. His mother died that same year. Summers attended high school in Winchester, and entered the University of Illinois at the age of 16. He earned a Bachelor of Science
in accounting in 1939 and a J.D.
(cum laude) in 1942, both from Illinois. While an undergraduate and law student, Summers became active in the Methodist Student Movement
and became a believer in the social gospel
.
Summers' brother had enlisted in the United States Army
at the beginning of World War II. But Summers, opposed to the use of force, declared himself a conscientious objector
. The Illinois State Bar Association
admitted he was of high moral character and exhibited excellent knowledge of the law, but denied him admission in 1942 due to his conscientious objector status. In a highly controversial but important decision, the Supreme Court of the United States
upheld the denial of admission to the bar in In re Summers
, 325 U.S. 561 (1945). Summers later was admitted to the New York State Bar Association
.
He taught law at the University of Toledo
from 1942 to 1945. In the summer of 1945, although a law professor and no longer a student, he participated in the Chicago YMCA
's "Students in Industry," joined union strike
picket lines, and protested discrimination against African Americans at local restaurants. While teaching at Toledo, he met and married Evelyn Wahlgren, a music teacher. They had two sons and two daughters.
Summers earned a Master of Laws
in 1946 and a Doctor of Science
in law in 1952, both from Columbia University
. He taught law at the University of Buffalo from 1949 to 1956. While at Buffalo, Summers was also employed by the United Auto Workers
and United Steelworkers
to teach labor law to union members, and represented union members in arbitration
hearings. In the summer of 1949, the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) asked Summers to update the organization's 1943 report, Democracy in Trade Unions. The updated report was published in June 1952. He taught law at Yale Law School
from 1956 to 1975, but left after he felt marginalized by the faculty there. He joined the University of Pennsylvania Law School
in 1975, where he was Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law. He retired in 2005 at the age of 87.
s that discussed how labor unions were violating their members' rights and the lack of democratic procedures and due process in union constitutions and processes. His 1947 article, "The Right to Join a Union," proved to be a critical piece in the development of his legal thinking, because it advocated that union members do not merely gain the right to work on a job but gain the right to actively participate in the union's decision-making processes.
As the United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management
began holding hearings in early 1957 on organized crime
's influence in labor unions, Governor of New York
Averell Harriman believed a similar commission should be created to address problems in his state. Subsequently, Harriman established the Governor's Committee on Improper Labor and Management Practices and appointed Summers chair. Summers and the committee drafted legislation which eventually became the New York Labor and Management Improper Practices Act of 1958. That same year, Summers drafted a "bill of rights for union members" for the ACLU.
Summers' work was critical to the drafting and passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959. His 1952 ACLU report helped frame the legislative proposals the Senate Select Committee considered as its work came to an end. In 1957, Harvard Law School
professor Archibald Cox
was asked by Senator
John F. Kennedy
to put together a panel of experts to draft labor law reform legislation that would address the issues raised by the Select Committee. The draft legislation which Summers helped write was the foundation of the 1958 Kennedy-Ives Bill, which itself was incorporated into the Landrum-Griffin Act. The New York legislation Summers helped write became the basis for Title V of the Act. His testimony before the Senate "played a pivotal role in the Senate's narrow vote, during the next session of Congress, to add a Union Members' Bill of Rights to the bill..."
Beginning in 1969, Summers served on the board of directors of the Association for Union Democracy (AUD), a position he would not leave for almost four decades. He was also a member of the AUD Legal Review Committee, which helped decide which lawsuits the organization would participate in. Summers deeply influenced Supreme Court decisions several times. He submitted the AUD's brief in Hall v. Cole, 412 U.S. 1 (1973), in which the Supreme Court interpreted the Landrum-Griffin Act to permit the awarding of attorney's fees to successful plaintiffs. His arguments "and the legitimacy his presence in the case lent to those arguments no doubt influenced the outcome of this case..." He participated in two landmark Landrum-Griffin decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, Trbovich v. United Mine Workers
, 404 U.S. 528 (1972) (which upheld the right of union members to intervene in enforcement proceedings brought by the United States Department of Labor
) and Dunlop v. Bachowski
, 421 U.S. 560 (1975) (which upheld the authority of federal courts to review the Department of Labor's decision to proceed or not proceed with prosecutions under Landrum-Griffin). Indeed, he wrote most of the legal brief in Trbovich. Due to his work with the United Mine Workers of America
(UMWA), he later was asked to draft new constitutions for many UMWA locals as well as the international union. He also testified in a federal RICO
prosecution against Teamsters
Local 506, a favorable decision which eventually led to the establishment of federal trusteeship over the entire international union in 1989.
Summers' theory of union democracy was that transparency and democracy make it very unlikely that organized crime will gain a foothold in a union, or that union leaders will act against their members' best interests. His 1960 casebook
, Labor Relations and the Law, is considered a labor law "classic". His 1998 casebook
, Labor Law, Cases and Materials, "is one of the few casebooks to provide a thorough discussion of union democracy." His most influential later work was the article "Democracy in a One-Party State: Perspectives from Landrum-Griffin," published in 1984.
in Germantown, Pennsylvania
, on October 30, 2010, from complications of a stroke
. He was survived by his wife, his two daughters, and his two sons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and educator who is best known for his work in advocating more democratic procedures in labor unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. He helped write the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 , is a United States labor law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and their officials' relationships with employers.-Background:...
of 1959 (also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act) and was highly influential in the field of labor law
United States labor law
United States labor law is a heterogeneous collection of state and federal laws. Federal law not only sets the standards that govern workers' rights to organize in the private sector, but also overrides most state and local laws that attempt to regulate this area. Federal law also provides more...
, authoring more than 150 publications on the issue of union democracy alone. He was considered the nation's leading expert on union democracy. "What Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
was to the field of privacy law, Clyde Summers is to the field of union democracy," wrote Widener University School of Law
Widener University School of Law
Widener University School of Law is the ABA accredited law school of Widener University. The school, founded in 1971 as the Delaware Law School, operates on two of Widener's campuses, one in Wilmington, Delaware, and the other in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania....
professor Michael J. Goldberg in the summer of 2010. "Summers, like Brandeis, provided the theoretical foundation for an important new field of law."
Career
Summers was born in Grass Range, MontanaGrass Range, Montana
Grass Range is a town in Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 149 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grass Range is located at ....
, on November 21, 1918. His parents were farmers, and the Summers family moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
; and Tecumseh, Nebraska
Tecumseh, Nebraska
Tecumseh is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tecumseh is located at ....
, before settling in Winchester, Illinois
Winchester, Illinois
Winchester is a city in Scott County, Illinois, United States. It is the county seat of Scott County. The population was 1,650 at the 2000 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land...
, in 1929. His mother died that same year. Summers attended high school in Winchester, and entered the University of Illinois at the age of 16. He earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in accounting in 1939 and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(cum laude) in 1942, both from Illinois. While an undergraduate and law student, Summers became active in the Methodist Student Movement
Wesley Foundation
A Wesley Foundation is a United Methodist campus ministry sponsored in full or in part by the United Methodist Church on a non-church owned and operated campus...
and became a believer in the social gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
.
Summers' brother had enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at the beginning of World War II. But Summers, opposed to the use of force, declared himself a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
. The Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
The Illinois State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the country. Approximately 30,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in...
admitted he was of high moral character and exhibited excellent knowledge of the law, but denied him admission in 1942 due to his conscientious objector status. In a highly controversial but important decision, the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
upheld the denial of admission to the bar in In re Summers
In re Summers
In re Summers, , is a 5-to-4 ruling by the United States Supreme Court which held that the First and Fourtheenth amendment freedoms of a conscientious objector were not infringed when a state bar association declined to admit him to the practice of law...
, 325 U.S. 561 (1945). Summers later was admitted to the New York State Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association , with 77,000 members, is the largest voluntary bar association in the United States.-History:The State Bar was founded with a constitution that dates to 1877...
.
He taught law at the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
from 1942 to 1945. In the summer of 1945, although a law professor and no longer a student, he participated in the Chicago YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
's "Students in Industry," joined union strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
picket lines, and protested discrimination against African Americans at local restaurants. While teaching at Toledo, he met and married Evelyn Wahlgren, a music teacher. They had two sons and two daughters.
Summers earned a Master of Laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
in 1946 and a Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
in law in 1952, both from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He taught law at the University of Buffalo from 1949 to 1956. While at Buffalo, Summers was also employed by the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
and United Steelworkers
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
to teach labor law to union members, and represented union members in arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
hearings. In the summer of 1949, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU) asked Summers to update the organization's 1943 report, Democracy in Trade Unions. The updated report was published in June 1952. He taught law at Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
from 1956 to 1975, but left after he felt marginalized by the faculty there. He joined the University of Pennsylvania Law School
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Law School, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the Ivy League, it is among the oldest and most selective law schools in the nation. It is currently ranked 7th overall by U.S. News & World Report,...
in 1975, where he was Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law. He retired in 2005 at the age of 87.
Union work
In the 1940s and 1950s, Summers wrote numerous "ground-breaking" articles for law reviewLaw review
A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...
s that discussed how labor unions were violating their members' rights and the lack of democratic procedures and due process in union constitutions and processes. His 1947 article, "The Right to Join a Union," proved to be a critical piece in the development of his legal thinking, because it advocated that union members do not merely gain the right to work on a job but gain the right to actively participate in the union's decision-making processes.
As the United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management
United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management
The United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management was a select committee created by the United States Senate on January 30, 1957, and dissolved on March 31, 1960...
began holding hearings in early 1957 on organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
's influence in labor unions, Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Averell Harriman believed a similar commission should be created to address problems in his state. Subsequently, Harriman established the Governor's Committee on Improper Labor and Management Practices and appointed Summers chair. Summers and the committee drafted legislation which eventually became the New York Labor and Management Improper Practices Act of 1958. That same year, Summers drafted a "bill of rights for union members" for the ACLU.
Summers' work was critical to the drafting and passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959. His 1952 ACLU report helped frame the legislative proposals the Senate Select Committee considered as its work came to an end. In 1957, Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
professor Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox, Jr., was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy. He became known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on...
was asked by Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to put together a panel of experts to draft labor law reform legislation that would address the issues raised by the Select Committee. The draft legislation which Summers helped write was the foundation of the 1958 Kennedy-Ives Bill, which itself was incorporated into the Landrum-Griffin Act. The New York legislation Summers helped write became the basis for Title V of the Act. His testimony before the Senate "played a pivotal role in the Senate's narrow vote, during the next session of Congress, to add a Union Members' Bill of Rights to the bill..."
Beginning in 1969, Summers served on the board of directors of the Association for Union Democracy (AUD), a position he would not leave for almost four decades. He was also a member of the AUD Legal Review Committee, which helped decide which lawsuits the organization would participate in. Summers deeply influenced Supreme Court decisions several times. He submitted the AUD's brief in Hall v. Cole, 412 U.S. 1 (1973), in which the Supreme Court interpreted the Landrum-Griffin Act to permit the awarding of attorney's fees to successful plaintiffs. His arguments "and the legitimacy his presence in the case lent to those arguments no doubt influenced the outcome of this case..." He participated in two landmark Landrum-Griffin decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, Trbovich v. United Mine Workers
Trbovich v. United Mine Workers
Trbovich v. United Mine Workers, 404 U.S. 528 is a 6-to-1 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 gave union members the right to intervene in enforcement proceedings brought by the United States Department of...
, 404 U.S. 528 (1972) (which upheld the right of union members to intervene in enforcement proceedings brought by the United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
) and Dunlop v. Bachowski
Dunlop v. Bachowski
Dunlop v. Bachowski, 421 U.S. 560 is a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 gives federal courts jurisdiction to review decisions of the United States Department of Labor to proceed with prosecutions...
, 421 U.S. 560 (1975) (which upheld the authority of federal courts to review the Department of Labor's decision to proceed or not proceed with prosecutions under Landrum-Griffin). Indeed, he wrote most of the legal brief in Trbovich. Due to his work with the United Mine Workers of America
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
(UMWA), he later was asked to draft new constitutions for many UMWA locals as well as the international union. He also testified in a federal RICO
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
prosecution against Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
Local 506, a favorable decision which eventually led to the establishment of federal trusteeship over the entire international union in 1989.
Summers' theory of union democracy was that transparency and democracy make it very unlikely that organized crime will gain a foothold in a union, or that union leaders will act against their members' best interests. His 1960 casebook
Casebook
A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools. Rather than simply laying out the legal doctrine in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from legal cases in which the law of that area was applied. It is then up to the student to analyze the language...
, Labor Relations and the Law, is considered a labor law "classic". His 1998 casebook
Casebook
A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools. Rather than simply laying out the legal doctrine in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from legal cases in which the law of that area was applied. It is then up to the student to analyze the language...
, Labor Law, Cases and Materials, "is one of the few casebooks to provide a thorough discussion of union democracy." His most influential later work was the article "Democracy in a One-Party State: Perspectives from Landrum-Griffin," published in 1984.
Death
Clyde Summers died at a retirement homeRetirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
in Germantown, Pennsylvania
Germantown, Pennsylvania
Germantown is the name of six places in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a state in the United States, including a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:* Germantown, Adams County, Pennsylvania* Germantown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania...
, on October 30, 2010, from complications of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He was survived by his wife, his two daughters, and his two sons.