(a) Definition. A trade association is generally a membership organization of persons engaging in a similar or related line of commerce, organized to promote and improve business conditions in that line of commerce and not to engage in a regular business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any member.

(b) Prohibition. Nothing in this section waives the prohibition on contributions by corporations which are members of a trade association.

(c) Limitations. A trade association or a separate segregated fund established by a trade association may solicit contributions from the stockholders and executive or administrative personnel of the member corporations of such trade association and the families of such stockholders and personnel if—

(1) The member corporation involved has separately and specifically approved the solicitations; and

(2) The member corporation has not approved a solicitation by any other trade association for the same calendar year.

(d) Separate and specific approval.

(1) The member corporation must knowingly and specifically approve any solicitation for a trade association, whether the solicitation is done by the trade association, its separate segregated fund, or the corporation or any of its personnel, for contributions to the trade association's separate segregated fund.

(2) A copy of each approved request received by a trade association or its separate segregated fund shall be maintained by the trade association or its fund for three years from the year for which the approval is given.

(3) The request for approval may contain a copy of solicitation materials which will be used if approval is granted. Such a mailing must specifically indicate the requirement of approval and the limitation of paragraph (c)(2) of this section, and approval must be granted to the trade association or its separate segregated fund prior to the time any solicitation is made of the stockholders or executive or administrative personnel by the trade association, its separate segregated fund, or by the corporation for contributions to the separate segregated fund of the trade association. (The request for approval may be sent to the representatives of the corporation with whom the trade association normally conducts the association's activities.)

(4) A separate authorization specifically allowing a trade association to solicit its corporate member's stockholders, and executive or administrative personnel applies through the calendar year for which it is designated. A separate authorization by the corporate member must be designated for each year during which the solicitation is to occur. This authorization may be requested and may also be received prior to the calendar year in which the solicitation is to occur.

(5) In its request to a member corporation, a trade association may indicate that it intends to solicit, for example, a limited class of the executive or administrative personnel of the member corporation, or only the executive or administrative personnel but not the stockholders of the member corporation. Moreover, in its approval, a member corporation may similarly limit any solicitation by the trade association or its separate segregated fund. In any event, a member corporation, once it has approved any solicitation—even to a limited extent—of its personnel or stockholders by a trade association or its separate segregated fund, is precluded from approving any such solicitation by another trade association or its separate segregated fund and the corporation and its personnel are precluded from soliciting the corporation's executive or administrative personnel or stockholders on behalf of another trade association or its separate segregated fund.

(e) Solicitation.

(1) After a trade association has obtained the approval required in paragraph (c) of this section, there is no limit on the number of times the trade association or its separate segregated fund may solicit the persons approved by the member corporation during the calendar year to which the approval applies. The member corporation may, however, in its approval limit the number of times solicitations may be made.

(2) A member corporation which grants permission to a trade association to solicit is in no way restricted in its rights under §114.5(g) to solicit its stockholders or executive or administrative personnel and their families for contributions to the corporation's own separate segregated fund.

(3) There is no limitation on the method of soliciting voluntary contributions or the method of facilitating the making of voluntary contributions which a trade association may use.

(4) A corporation may provide incidental services to collect and forward contributions from its employee stockholders and executive and administrative personnel to the separate segregated fund of a trade association of which the corporation is a member, including a payroll deduction or check-off system, upon written request of the trade association. Any corporation that provides such incidental services, and the corporation's subsidiaries, branches, divisions, and affiliates, shall make those incidental services available to a labor organization representing any members working for the corporation or the corporation's subsidiaries, branches, divisions, or affiliates, upon written request of the labor organization and at a cost sufficient only to reimburse the corporation or the corporation's subsidiaries, branches, divisions, and affiliates, for the expenses incurred thereby.

(5) A trade association and/or its separate segregated fund is subject to the provisions of §114.5(a).

(f) Solicitation of a subsidiary corporation. If a parent corporation is a member of the trade association but its subsidiary is not, the trade association or its separate segregated fund may only solicit the parent's executive or administrative personnel and their families and the parent's stockholders and their families; it may not solicit the subsidiary's executive or administrative personnel or stockholders or their families. If a subsidiary is a member of the trade association but the parent corporation is not, the trade association or its separate segregated fund may only solicit the subsidiary's executive or administrative personnel and their families and the subsidiary's stockholders and their families; it may not solicit the parent's executive or administrative personnel or stockholders or their families. If both parent and subsidiary are members of the trade association, the executive or administrative personnel and their families and the stockholders and their families of each may be solicited.

(g) Federations of trade associations.

(1) A federation of trade associations is an organization representing trade associations involved in the same or allied line of commerce. Such a federation may, subject to the following limitations, solicit the members of the federation's regional, State or local affiliates or members, provided that all of the political committees established, financed, maintained or controlled by the federation and its regional, State, or local affiliates or members are considered one political committee for the purposes of the limitations in §§110.1 and 110.2. The factors set forth at §100.5(g)(4) shall be used to determine whether an entity is a regional, State or local affiliate of a federation of trade associations.

(i) The federation and its member associations may engage in a joint solicitation; or

(ii) The member association may delegate its solicitation rights to the federation.

(2) A federation is subject to the provisions of this section when soliciting the stockholders and executive or administrative personnel of the corporate members of its member associations.

(h) Communications other than solicitations. A trade association may make communications, other than solicitations, to its members and their families under the provisions of §114.3. When making communications to a member which is a corporation, the trade association may communicate with the representatives of the corporation with whom the trade association normally conducts the association's activities.

(i) Trade association employees.

(1) A trade association may communicate with its executive or administrative personnel and their families under the provisions of §114.3; a trade association may communicate with its other employees under the provisions of §114.4.

(2) A trade association may solicit its executive or administrative personnel and their families under the provisions of §114.5(g); a trade association may solicit its other employees under the provisions of §114.6.

(52 U.S.C. 30118, 30107(a)(8))

[41 FR 35955, Aug. 25, 1976, as amended at 48 FR 48650, Oct. 20, 1983; 48 FR 50508, Nov. 2, 1983; 54 FR 10622, Mar. 15, 1989; 54 FR 27154, June 28, 1989, 54 FR 34114, Aug. 17, 1989; 54 FR 48580, Nov. 24, 1989; 55 FR 2281, Jan. 23, 1990; 70 FR 41944, July 21, 2005]