IN RE: MARVIN JORDAN,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 76
Issued: January 3, 2001
OEA Case No. PR122401AT
Marvin C. Jordan, a member of Local 528, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2000-2001 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules")against Local 528. Jordan alleges improprieties in the December 22, 2000 Local 528 local union officer election, which he claims will affect the results of the upcoming Local 528 election for delegates to the IBT 2001 convention.
Election Administrator representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated the protest.
Because the alleged misconduct here is limited to Local 528's officer elections, we find that the protest is beyond our jurisdiction under the Rules and must be dismissed.
Findings of Fact
The ballots for Local 528's local union officer election were counted on December 22, 2000. Three slates ran candidates in the officer election. One slate's candidate for president of the local was Kenneth Hilbish, the incumbent, who received 779 votes. Candidate Toney of the second slate received 339 votes. The protestor was the third presidential candidate and received 334 votes. There were 298 challenged votes. Hilbish is the IBT's Warehouse Division Director.
The election was not conducted by mail ballot, but was instead conducted at 49 sites at various workplaces and the local union hall. The protestor alleges that numerous votes were challenged because voters allegedly voted at the wrong location. His claims that his vote was challenged at the local union hall because he voted there after campaigning, rather than returning twenty-five miles to his workplace. Jordan also claims that he observed IBT representative Jack Bernard break the seals on some ballot boxes at the vote count before the arrival of his side's candidate observers.
Jordan stated that based on these allegations he has or will file protests of the local union officer election with the Georgia/Florida conference, the IRB, the Ethical Practices Committee and the Department of Labor.
Jordan was not, however, able to articulate how the local union officer election had or would effect the upcoming delegate election. The nomination meeting for that election is set for January 7, 2001, with ballots to be mailed on February 6, 2000 and counted on February 27, 2001.
Analysis
The preamble to the Rules provides that "[t]he Election Administrator's authority to supervise the electoral process … is limited to the nomination and election of International Convention delegates and alternate delegates and the nomination and election of International officers. These Rules are not applicable to elections of IBT subordinate body officers."
Here, the protest alleges misconduct only with respect to Local 528's officer elections. Thus, even if these elections were not conducted properly (a finding that we do not make), this would not state a violation of the Rules. Hale, 2000 EAD 61 (December 12, 2000). Moreover, the protestor has offered no evidence that would tie the local union officer election misconduct he alleges to the 2000-2001 delegate and International officer election, and therefore has provided no basis for the Election Administrator to pass on his misconduct allegations. For these reasons, the protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within two (2) working days of receipt of this decision. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Administrator. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Kenneth Conboy
Election Appeals Master
Latham & Watkins
Suite 1000
885 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Fax: 212-751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon all other parties, as well as upon the Election Administrator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 727 15th
Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005, all within the time period prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
William A. Wertheimer, Jr.
William A. Wertheimer, Jr.
Election Administrator
cc: Kenneth Conboy
2000 EAD 76
DISTRIBUTION LIST VIA UPS NEXT DAY AIR:
Patrick Szymanski
IBT General Counsel
25 Louisiana Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik,
Raymond, Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway
Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
J. Douglas Korney
Korney & Heldt
30700 Telegraph Road
Suite 1551
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
Barbara Harvey
645 Griswold
Penobscot Building
Suite 1800
Detroit, MI 48226
Betty Grdina
Yablonski, Both & Edelman
Suite 800
1140 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tom Leedham c/o Stefan Ostrach
110 Mayfair
Eugene, OR 97404
IBT Local 528
2540 Lakewood Ave., SW
Atlanta, GA 30315
Marvin C. Jordan
3130 Gray Road
Smyrna, GA 30082
J. Griffin Morgan
Elliott, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan
500 West Fourth Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27120