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IN RE: KEN WENHAM, See also Election Appeals Master decision 01 EAM 49 (KC) Ken Wenham, a member of Local Union 690 and candidate for delegate, 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"). His protest alleges that the list of nominees in the local’s delegate election was not posted at his worksite as required by the Rules. Election Administrator representative Paige Keys investigated the protest. Findings of Fact and Analysis Article II, Section 6(a) of the Rules requires the local union secretary-treasurer, "[a]s soon as possible but in no event later than five (5) days following the nomination meeting(s)," to post "on all Union bulletin boards a list of nominated candidates, by name (and by slate affiliation, if known at the time)." The local held its nomination meeting January 9, 2001. Its deadline for posting the list of nominated candidates was January 14. The local promptly mailed the list to its stewards with instructions that they post it on all worksite bulletin boards immediately. However, when the protestor returned from a week’s vacation on January 22, he discovered the list was not posted at his worksite. He contacted the local, and the list was posted the same day. Ballots were mailed February 9. The protestor does not allege that he was materially disadvantaged by the list’s absence from his worksite, nor does he contend he was unable to distribute campaign material or otherwise inform members of his candidacy because the list was missing for a period of time. In Snow, P368 (March 6, 1996), a delayed posting of nomination results did not violate the Rules where there was no evidence of the local’s bad faith and no disadvantage to candidates. In Young, P426 (March 29, 1996), the local’s prompt re-posting of notices mitigated the effect of the missing posting. In Snow, P727 (May 28, 1996), the Election Officer recognized the practical difficulty in maintaining postings over a period of time:
Here, as in Young, supra, we find "there is no evidence to suggest that the missing notice led to an electorate without knowledge of the election, or otherwise affected its outcome," especially given that the list of candidates was posted at the protestor’s worksite nearly three weeks before ballots were mailed. Accordingly, 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 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 221 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
Ken Wenham 723 E. Sinto Spokane, WA 99202
IBT Local 690 1912 North Division Street, LL #103 Western Region/JC 28 Spokane, WA 99207
Christine Mrak 2357 Hobart Avenue Seattle, WA 98116
Paige Keys 12523 SE 64th Place Bellevue, WA 98006
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