IN RE: DAVID THORNSBERRY,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 461
Issued: September 20, 2001
OEA Case No. PR090612MW
David Thornsberry, an International officer candidate and a member of Local 89, 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"). Thornsberry alleges his employer United Parcel Service ("UPS") threatened him with disciplinary action because an employee allegedly used a UPS copy machine to make copies of a campaign leaflet.
Election Administrator representative Dolores Hall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Thornsberry alleges that he was threatened with disciplinary action by his employer because an employee allegedly used a UPS copy machine to make copies of a campaign leaflet. Thornsberry claims that UPS supervisor Todd Coke told him that as a candidate for office he was responsible for any campaign activity that may violate the Rules, and that he would receive a warning letter (a formal disciplinary action under the labor agreement covering his employment) because of the incident. Thornsberry also claims that UPS management discussed the matter with Local 89 on August 31, 2001, but did not discuss it with him until September 4.
UPS states its concern that their neutral position in the IBT election campaign was eroded by use of a company copy machine to reproduce campaign material. UPS says that it cannot prove that Thornsberry used one of its copy machine to reproduce his campaign leaflet and that therefore no warning letter would issue.
Our investigation showed that on August 31, Thornsberry distributed campaign leaflets outside the UPS facility before work. Coke says that he found one of the leaflets in the UPS copy machine and was concerned that Thornsberry might have made the copies on that machine.[1] Coke contacted UPS labor relations manager Chuck Martorana, who instructed Coke to issue Thornsberry a warning letter if it could be proven that Thornsberry made copies of his campaign literature on a UPS machine. Coke also contacted Local 89 to advise them of the situation, and set up a meeting with Local 89 business agent Paul McIntosh, labor relations manager Pete Danes, steward Shane McKinley, and Thornsberry for September 4, the first workday following the discovery of the campaign leaflet.
Thornsberry denies using any UPS equipment to copy his campaign literature. He also told Coke that he had 5,000 copies of the challenged leaflet in his truck in the parking lot and that he thus had no motive to use a UPS copy machine, and said that he had a receipt for the same.
Coke and Martorana both confirmed that no warning letter was issued to Thornsberry because there was no proof of use of any UPS copying equipment for campaign purposes.
Based on the foregoing, we DENY the protest. No retaliatory action was taken against Thornsberry. Thornsberry was warned that he could be disciplined if he had engaged in such conduct. Such a warning was not inappropriate in these circumstances.
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 upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Administrator in any such appeal. 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, Tenth Floor, Washington, DC 20005 (facsimile: 202-454-1501), all within the time 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
2001 EAD 461
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
Penobscot Building
Suite 1800
645 Griswold
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
Hoffa Unity Slate
Todd Thompson
209 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
Fred E. Zuckerman
President, IBT Local 89
3813 Taylor Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40215
David Thornsberry
10403 Truman Way
Louisville, KY 40299
Gary Tocci
Kim Kaplan
Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis
Suite 3600
1600 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Lindsay Marshall
UPS Inc., Legal Department
55 Glenlake Parkway NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
[1] Such copying would violate Article XI, Section 1(b)(2) of the Rules as an improper use of employer resources in support of a campaign.