Union Can’t Sue Over Campaign Donations, Seventh Circuit Says

Private citizens can’t sue to enforce a law barring employer donations to candidates for union office, an appellate court found Wednesday, saying it’s up to the US Labor Secretary to bring civil actions “on behalf of aggrieved union members.”

The decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejects an argument by the Chicago Teachers Union that the law in question, which bars unions and employers from donating money in union elections. implies a private right to sue.

“If Congress wanted to include a right of action” in the statute, “it knew how to craft one,” Judge ...