Enacted in 1959, the Landrum-Griffin Act or Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act was intended to attain maximum protection for the rights of individual workers within the union without undermining the union as an institution necessary for the existence of collective bargaining. Title I is the union members' bill of rights; titles II-VI regulate the internal practices of unions and require that union officals disclose and report certain information; and title VII contains amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. Over the past 20 years, courts have grappled with the problem of resolving the conflicting objectives of the members and the union while implementing the statutory purpose. In this study, the courts' stance on various issues that have arisen under the Landrum-Griffin Act is analyzed to determine how the courts have balanced the needs of members against the needs of the union. In addition, the role that the Department of Labor has played in the enforcement of the statute is considered, particularly with regard to elections and union funds. (Author/JM)