IN RE: JOHN SCHINDLER,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 99
Issued: January 24, 2001
OEA Case No. PR010815CA
John Schindler, a member of Local 141, 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 141. Schindler alleges that the Local 141 election committee was not elected, which Schindler says is contrary to the local union's by-laws. Schindler also claims that during the local's January 6, 2001 nomination meeting on January 6, 2001, William (Bill) Congdon was improperly nominated as a delegate without being present at the meeting or accepting the nomination in writing.
Election Administrator representative Gwen Randall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact
Article II, Section 4(b)(3) of the Rules provides that each local union submit a proposed local union election plan for approval by the Election Administrator, and further requires that the plan set forth a description of the composition of the local election committee or any substitute therefore, the method of selection of such body and, if known, the names of the individuals selected to serve. Article II, Section 4(c) provides that once a local union plan is submitted to the Election Administrator, the local union shall make the complete plan available for inspection at its office by any member of the local union. In addition, members have the right to obtain a copy of the plan from the local union at no cost.
Article II, Section 4(d) of the Rules gives members the right to submit written comments to the Election Administrator concerning a proposed local union plan within 15 days of the submission of the plan to the Election Administrator. Article II, Section (4)(e) of the Rules requires that as soon as possible, but in no event later than 5 days after the local union submits its plan to the Election Administrator, the secretary-treasurer of the local shall post a notice on all local union bulletin boards advising that the local union plan has been submitted to the Election Administrator and further advising members of their rights under Article II, Section (c) and (d).
Article II, Section 5(h) provides that to be eligible for nomination, a member must accept his/her nomination at the time made either in person, or, if absent, in writing. If acceptance is made in writing, the document must be presented to the presiding local union officer no later than the time the member is nominated.
Local 141 submitted its proposed election plan to the Election Administrator on September 28, 2000. The notice of local union plan submission was posted on 64 bulletin boards to which the local has access. Paragraph 3(a) of the local union plan states that Local 141's executive board appointed the local union election committee on September 7, 2000, with Ray Elliott (retired member and past local union president), Lorne Elliott (retired member and past local union recording secretary) and Bill McTavish as members. No timely (or untimely) written objections were received in the office of the Election Administrator or the office of Local 141 concerning the proposed local union plan before its November 30, 2000 approval by the Election Administrator. The first objection raised concerning the plan was made in Schindler's January 8, 2001 protest.
The protestor says that the by-laws of Local 141 require that members of the local election committee be elected. In fact, the local union by-laws submitted with the local union election plan provide on page 28, subsection (5) as follows:
If an election committee is used, after nominations each candidate for the office of President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary may designate one (1) member for service thereon who shall thereupon be appointed by the President.
Schindler and Congdon were nominated to run for the position of delegate at the Local 141 nomination meeting held on January 6, 2001. On January 4, 2001, Congdon delivered a letter dated December 28, 2000 that read:
I Bill Congdon a Member in good standing at Local 141 do put my name forward to run as a delegate for the 2001 Teamsters Convention and accept such nomination. (Signed William (Bill) Congdon.)
The letter is typewritten with the exception of the phrase "and accept such nomination," which is hand-printed on the letter. Both Congdon and Rob Fletcher, secretary-treasurer and business representative at Local 141, confirm that the handwritten portion was added to the document on January 4, 2001, when the document was delivered to the local union secretary-treasurer. At the January 6 nomination meeting, the letter was read out to the membership. However, Ray Elliott, who chaired the meeting, neglected to read out the handwritten portion of the letter.
Analysis
Local 141's election committee was appointed by the local's executive board on September 7, 2000, approximately two weeks before the local union plan was submitted to the Election Administrator. Notice of the plan submission was posted on all Local 141 bulletin boards and Schindler had ample opportunity to obtain a copy of the plan at no cost and to submit his comments concerning the plan during the period provided by the Rules. He did not.
Schindler's protest is thus well beyond the time limit of two workings days set by Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules. No reason is offered by Schindler for his untimely submission, and we therefore deem it untimely. In addition, the Local 141 by-law provision quoted above relates solely to the election of local union officers, and not to the local's delegate election. Accordingly, since the Rules do not provide a method for the selection of local union election committees, and since there is no allegation that the committee is not independent, we decline to hold that the appointment of the committee by the local's executive board will in any way prevent a fair, honest, open or informed election. For these reasons, this portion of the protest is DENIED.
Schindler's protest allegations against Congdon's candidacy are also DENIED. Congdon properly accepted his nomination in writing by means of his letter dated December 28, 2000 and submitted on January 4, 2001, before the January 6, 2001 nomination meeting.
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, 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
2001 EAD 99
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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
IBT Local 141
426 Third St.
London, ON
Canada N5W 4W6
John Schindler
4 Tumbleweed Crescent
London, ON
Canada N6E 2N7