The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held May 26 that the right of unions to handle internal affairs does not include the power to fine a member who is required by a collective bargaining agreement to report to management the misconduct of fellow employees. The court upheld a Nat. Labor Relations Board order against Teamsters Local 439 in Stockton, Cal., that resulted from a $500 fine imposed against janitor Luis Rojas who informed his supervisor that two female employees had taken an unauthorized break in a storage closet. The women were disciplined. Rojas would have faced demotion if he failed to report the infraction. But, a Teamsters boss filed union charges against Rojas, asserting that he had violated union provisions forbidding a member from knowingly harming fellow Teamsters. In Dec. 1995, the union executive board fined Rojas $500. [BNA 5/28/99]