 |
|
|
|
IN RE: FRED ZUCKERMAN, Protestor. Fred Zuckerman, president and candidate for delegate from Local Union 89 on the Zuckerman-Bolton Fighting for You slate (ZB slate), filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). He alleged that Wayne Sharp, a supporter of the United Rank & File slate (UR&F slate), violated the Rules by assaulting Kevin Oliva, a ZB campaigner. Election Supervisor representative Joe F. Childers investigated this protest. Findings of Fact The protest alleged that, at 11 p.m. on October 6, 2005, members and supporters of both slates competing in Local Union 89’s delegate election were campaigning side-by-side at a UPS facility in Louisville, Kentucky. Among these campaigners were ZB supporter Kevin Oliva and UR&F supporter Wayne Sharp. According to the protest, “an argument ensued between the[se] two individuals.” The protest elaborated as follows:
The campaigners for the respective slates converged on the UPS facility around 10 p.m. Handbilling for the ZB slate were, among others, protestor and delegate candidate Zuckerman, business agent Oliva, UPS steward Lenny Evans, local union chaplain and retiree Charlie Weibel, and local union custodian Danny Clemente. The UR&F slate leafletters included delegate candidates Darrell Hall and Mark “Gator” Horsley, alternate delegate candidate Keith Atwood, Atwood’s daughter Christie, union members Phil Pennington, Lynn Wheatley and Dale Knipp, and retiree and former member Sharp. Zuckerman told our investigator that Sharp distinguished himself with boisterous behavior on that evening. Thus, for about an hour leading up to 11 p.m., Sharp walked the line of UR&F campaigners yelling obscenities, making comments about the Central States pension fund and his insurance premiums, and stating that “this is the way [Zuckerman] treats retirees.” Sharp approached Zuckerman and berated him about insurance and pensions, calling ZB supporters “motherf-ckers.” Zuckerman responded to Sharp’s complaints by saying, this is how the local “treats f-cking morons.” According to Zuckerman, Sharp moved down the line of ZB campaigners, finally settling on Oliva. Zuckerman stated that Sharp moved in close to Oliva and called him “a f-cking idiot.” Oliva responded by telling Sharp “to go f-ck himself.” The two continued “nose to nose,” according to Zuckerman. Then, Sharp chest-bumped Oliva. In addition, Sharp attempted to head-butt Oliva, but the bill of his ball cap struck Oliva and flew off. Finally, according to Zuckerman, Sharp backed away from Oliva slightly, raised his forearm and “fairly gently” moved his forearm into Oliva’s chest. At this, UR&F delegate candidate Darrell Hall pulled Sharp away from the ZB campaigners, ending the incident. Oliva corroborated much of Zuckerman’s account. Oliva told our investigator that, as soon as he arrived, he noticed Sharp “running his mouth,” saying that Hoffa and Zuckerman “just want your money, they’re just going to raise your dues.” Oliva disputed Sharp’s statements, saying, “Buddy, that’s not right; let’s talk about Ron Carey; he spent every dime we had.” Sharp responded with another remark about Hoffa. According to Oliva, this exchange occurred at a distance. Some twenty minutes later, however, the exchange was joined again. While walking the line of ZB handbillers, Sharp continued to criticize Zuckerman’s handling of the union. When he neared Oliva, Sharp said, “I don’t love you.” Oliva responded, “Get the f-ck out of my face; you don’t know who you are f cking with.” At this, Sharp closed in on Oliva and said, “What are you going to do, big boy?” Oliva repeated that Sharp should back off, but Sharp responded by moving closer. According to Oliva, Sharp came nose-to-nose and attempted to head-butt Oliva, but the bill of Sharp’s cap struck Oliva and the cap fell to the ground. Sharp then moved to forearm Oliva, and touched him lightly on the chest. Sharp then pushed into Oliva with his chest. At this behavior, Oliva shot a glance at Zuckerman, who gave him a sign to back away. Oliva and other ZB handbillers then yelled for Darrell Hall to get Sharp away from them. Hall responded, and the incident ended, but not before Sharp issued a final accusation to Zuckerman, telling him that he was “ruining the union.” Zuckerman responded by calling Sharp “a f-cking moron.” At the end of the night, Zuckerman told Oliva he did the right thing by not hitting Sharp. Oliva replied that it was hard to resist because he was raised never to back down from a fight. Sharp offered a different account of the night’s activity. He told our investigator that he approached Zuckerman and asked whether his insurance rates were going up. According to Sharp, Zuckerman replied, “That’s how dumb you are; the Central States pension fund has nothing to do with the Teamsters.” Sharp states that Oliva piled on, calling Sharp a “dumb motherf-cker.” Sharp then went nose-to-nose with Oliva, telling him, “You don’t know me well enough to call me that.” Sharp recalled his hat falling to the ground but stated that his recollection was otherwise “a little fuzzy.” Although he did not deny physical contact with Oliva, Sharp doubts that such occurred, stating, “if there had been physical contact, all hell would have broken loose because tensions were high.” Sharp does recall Darrell Hall pulling him away from Oliva, saying “it’s not worth it.” Sharp denied being under the influence of alcohol or drugs that night. Hall was a distance away from the Oliva-Sharp exchange and observed little of it. However, he saw but did not hear an apparent argument between the two; he responded by pulling Sharp away, telling him, “It’s not worth it. Get away from here.” In addition to Zuckerman, Oliva, Sharp and Hall, our investigator interviewed ZB campaigners Lenny Evans, Craig Burns, Charlie Weibel, and Danny Clemente. Evans and Burns heard Sharp use profanity and saw his attempted head-butt; in addition, Burns heard Oliva’s profanity and saw Sharp “brush” Oliva with his elbow. Weibel heard Sharp curse at Oliva but saw no physical contact. Clemente heard an exchange of profanity between Sharp and Oliva but likewise saw no contact. UR&F delegate candidate Keith Atwood told our investigator he heard an ongoing, at times profane, exchange between Sharp and Oliva. While he saw them move very close together, he did not see a head-butt or a forearm move. Atwood’s daughter, who was standing near the two when they began their exchange, moved away immediately and saw no physical contact. Gator Horsley, a UR&F handbiller, heard loud voices but saw no physical contact. Finally, Lynn Wheatley and Phil Pennington neither saw nor heard anything relevant to this matter. Analysis Article VII, Section 11(a) of the Rules provides the following, in relevant part:
Article VII, Section 11(g) states:
The protest asserts that Sharp’s conduct constituted impermissible retaliation. As we noted in Cooper, 2005 ESD 8 (September 2, 2005):
The UR&F slate seeks dismissal of the protest by arguing that Sharp’s conduct is not attributable to the slate because he is a retiree and therefore a non-member. We reject this position. Under general principles of agency, candidates and slates who enlist supporters to conduct campaign activity are responsible for the Rules violations those supporters commit, even where those supporters are not union members. We note that, while members have greater rights to engage in campaign activity than non-members1 , they and the candidates and slates for whom they advocate share a common responsibility to abide by the Rules. Here, Sharp’s behavior was “loud, rude and obnoxious.” Yocum. Further, it was provocative and easily could have resulted in violence. Oliva, to his credit, resisted the bait, and Zuckerman and Hall appropriately intervened to avert a fight. Because Sharp’s conduct stopped short of violence, no Rules violation occurred. Therefore, we DENY this protest. 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 Supervisor 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 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,
1725 K Street, N.W., Suite 1400, Washington, D.C. 20007-5135, all within the
time prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for
hearing. Richard W. Mark cc: Kenneth Conboy
1 For example, members have the Rules-protected rights to run for office, make financial contributions to candidates and slates, and engage in other campaign activity, including campaigning in employee parking lots. In contrast, non-members are limited to donating services in their personal free time without compensation. In particular, campaigning in employee parking lots by non-members is not activity the Rules protect.
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED): Patrick J. Szymanski Bradley T. Raymond David J. Hoffa, Esq. Barbara Harvey Ken Paff Stephen Ostrach Judith Brown Chomsky Fred Zuckerman, President Robert Colone Kevin Oliva, Business Agent David Thornsberry United Rank & File Slate Wayne Sharp Ann Curry Thompson Joe F. Childers Jeffrey Ellison
|
|
|
