N RE: RICKY LUTGEN,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 226
Issued: March 12, 2001
OEA Case No. PR022212MW
Ricky Lutgen, a member of Local Union 650 and a 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"). He alleges he was improperly barred from withdrawing his acceptance of nomination for delegate so he could be nominated for alternate delegate.
Election Administrator representative Dennis Sarsany investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
At the nomination meeting held February 20, Lutgen was nominated for delegate. Following his acceptance of the nomination, Dave Miller, the local's principal officer, was duly nominated, and the delegate nominations were closed. When nominations for alternate delegate opened, Robert Panther was nominated, and he accepted. At that point, Lutgen announced he had made a mistake and requested to revoke his acceptance for delegate so he could be nominated for alternate. The meeting chair denied his request, declaring an individual may not accept nomination for both delegate and alternate. This protest followed.
Article II, Section 5(i) of the Rules instructs that "[n]o member may accept nomination for both a delegate and an alternate delegate position." Article II, Section 5(j) states that, "[a]fter a candidate has accepted nomination he/she may not, under any circumstance, revoke acceptance once the ballots are printed …"
The plain language of section 5(j) permits Lutgen to revoke his acceptance of the delegate nomination at any time before the printing of ballots, including during the nomination meeting. However, a duly nominated candidate for delegate may not, by revoking his acceptance during the nomination meeting, manipulate the nomination process to assure himself a more favorable electoral contest. Here, Lutgen announced his "mistake" only after the other candidates for delegate and alternate had been nominated. On these narrow facts, the meeting chair did not abuse his authority by rejecting Lutgen's request to revoke his acceptance. We therefore DENY the 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 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 226
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
Ricky Lutgen
502 Second Street S.E.
Waverly, IA 50677
IBT Local 650
308 Jefferson
Waterloo, IA 50704
Dennis Sarsany
1829 Eddy Street
Chicago, IL 60657