OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: ELIGIBILITY OF ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 56
RONALD PALMER, ) Issued: February 10, 2021
) OES Case No. E-060-012521-NE
Local Union 553. )
____________________________________)
Ronald Palmer, member of Local Union 553, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2020-2021 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). The protest challenged the eligibility verification letter issued by the Office of Election Supervisor that found him ineligible for nomination as delegate or alternate delegate.
Election Supervisor representative Jeffrey Ellison investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Article VI, Section 1(a) of the Rules provides that “to be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate or International Officer position, one must: (1) be a member in continuous good standing of the Local Union, with one’s dues paid to the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination for said position with no interruptions in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments; (2) be employed at the craft within the jurisdiction of the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination; and (3) be eligible to hold office if elected.”
The nominations meeting for Local Union 553’s delegates and alternate delegates election is scheduled for February 10, 2021. Therefore, the 24-month period during which candidates must be in continuous good standing to be eligible for nomination ran from February 2019 through January 2021.
Protestor Palmer’s dues record shows that he paid his dues by checkoff authorization for the first fifteen months of the eligibility period. However, he was laid off during the covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020 and did not return to work until fall. Because he had no compensation from the employer in the intervening months from which dues could be deducted, he was required to make timely direct payment of his dues to the local union each month.
Palmer did not do so. He asserted to our investigator that the local union was not open during those months. Our investigation found evidence to the contrary that the local union remained open and staffed, that the New York City building in which its offices are situated remained open to the public, and that the local union continued to receive mail deliveries at that address.
Palmer presented no evidence that he attempted to pay his dues directly to the local union, either by mail or by credit card payments made over the phone.
We acknowledge the extreme disruption and hardship the covid-19 pandemic has caused. The obligation to make timely dues payments in order to establish eligibility for nomination remains, however. Accordingly, we must DENY the protest and conclude that Palmer is INELIGIBLE for nomination.
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. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All 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 Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, all within the time prescribed above. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones
2021 ESD 56
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
braymond@teamster.org
Edward Gleason
egleason@gleasonlawdc.com
Patrick Szymanski
szymanskip@me.com
Will Bloom
wbloom@dsgchicago.com
Tom Geoghegan
tgeoghegan@dsgchicago.com
Rob Colone
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Barbara Harvey
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Kevin Moore
Mooregp2021@gmail.com
F.C. “Chris” Silvera
fitzverity@aol.com
Fred Zuckerman
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
ken@tdu.org
Ronald Palmer
pomsniner@gmail.com
Local Union 553
Demo553@verizon.net
Peter Marks
pmarks@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com