IN RE: GEORGE SAAVEDRA,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 451
Issued: September 14, 2001
OEA Case No. PR082612WE
George Saavedra, a member of Local 490, 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 that United Parcel Service improperly permitted the posting of an advertisement for a Hoffa-Mack campaign on a company-controlled bulletin board in the break room of the Oakland Air Hub of UPS.
Election Administrator representative Dolores Hall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Saavedra is not employed at the Oakland Air Hub, but rather makes deliveries to that location. On Saturday, August 25, 2001, he saw the fundraising flier that is the subject of his protest posted on a bulletin board. Saavedra had not made deliveries to the Oakland Air Hub the previous Saturday and therefore did not know how long the flier had been posted there. He returned to the hub on Saturday, September 1 and saw that the flier had been removed.
Saavedra believes that the bulletin board in question is under the control of UPS because he saw only UPS employee related material posted there, with the exception of the Hoffa Mack flier. Saavedra described the other fliers as "Meeting the Challenge," "You Make It Happen," and "UPS Offers $5,000 Reward" for information on employee theft.
UPS denied that the bulletin board on which the fundraising flyer appeared was company-controlled. Rather, it says that the Hoffa-Mack literature was posted adjacent to a Union bulletin board in the break room. According to UPS, its permission was neither sought nor received with respect to this posting, and UPS officials had no knowledge of or involvement with the posting. Saavedra offers no evidence to the contrary.
We credit UPS's description of its conduct and of the placement of the Hoffa-Mack flyer, and find that it was not improperly placed on a company bulletin board. Accordingly, we 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 451
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
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Lindsay Marshall
UPS, Inc. Legal Department
55 Glenlake Pkwy. NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
Gary Tocci
Kim Kaplan
Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis
Suite 3600
1600 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
George Saavedra
845 Thetford Place
Fairfield, CA 94533