IN RE: WILFRED BYINGTON,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 484
Issued: October 2, 2001
OEA Case No. PR090611MW
Wilfred Byington, a member of Local Union 174, 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 Bob Hasegawa, Dave Reynolds and Steve Williamson. The protest alleges that Williamson, with the assistance of Reynolds, transferred from Local 174 to Local 763 as part of a sham transaction that violated the Rules and gave Hasegawa political advantage.
Election Administrator representative Jeffrey Ellison investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact
Hasegawa, the former principal officer of Local 174, was elected convention delegate from the local and is currently a candidate for West region vice president on the Tom Leedham Rank & File Power slate ("Leedham slate"). Reynolds is principal officer of Local 763. Williamson is a former employee of Local 174 and is current executive secretary-treasurer of the King County Labor Council ("KCLC"), an AFL-CIO affiliate.
The KCLC is funded by per capita assessments of its constituent labor organizations. An organization that falls two or more months in arrears in its per capita is subject to suspension from the council. Following Hasegawa's defeat for reelection as principal officer of Local 174 and the January 2001 transition to the new administration, Local 174 failed to pay its monthly per capita to the council. On March 7, 2001, Local 174 and 25 similarly situated affiliates of the council were suspended from membership.
At the time of Local 174's suspension from the KCLC, Williamson was a member in good standing of the local. Under council bylaws, employees of the council are required to maintain membership in labor organizations which themselves are council members in good standing. In light of Local 174's suspension from membership, Williamson's status as an employee of the council was called into question.
Local 174 and the other suspended affiliates were notified of their suspensions and advised that they could "request dispensation from per capita payments … at the next KCLC Executive Board meeting (March 21st)." Council bylaws permit a local union to request up to six months' dispensation in its per capita obligation "because of financial difficulty caused by strikes, lockouts, or other hardship deemed appropriate by the Executive Board." The local submitted such a request for consideration at the March 21 meeting. Also on the agenda for that meeting was a discussion item concerning the "status of the executive secretary," Williamson, in light of Local 174's suspension.
When Williamson saw that his employment status with the council would be discussed, he took immediate action to transfer his membership to a council affiliate in good standing. He telephoned Reynolds at Local 763 and requested to transfer from Local 174 to that local. He signed a dues authorization card on March 21 and was appointed as delegate to the council from Local 763. A collective bargaining agreement between the local and the council covering Williamson's position was executed April 24, retroactive to March 1; the agreement detailed the benefits to be accorded Williamson. Given Williamson's transfer to Local 763 on March 21, his employment status with the council was eliminated as an issue at the meeting of the same date.
Local 174 was granted six months' dispensation at the March 21 meeting of the council, thus restoring its good standing and excusing it from per capita for the period January through June 2001.
Hasegawa, in the midst of a campaign for delegate from Local 174, raised the local's suspension from the council as a campaign issue.
This protest was filed September 6 concerning well-publicized events occurring in March. The untimeliness of the protest is a sufficient basis on which to deny it.
However, the protest lacks substantive merit as well. It alleges Williamson's transfer to Local 763 and the consequent collective bargaining agreement between Local 763 and the council covering Williamson's position is a sham to give Hasegawa political advantage both in Local 174's delegate election and the current International officer election. We find, however, that Williamson's transfer was prompted by his legitimate concern about job security with the council, in light of Local 174's failure to pay its per capita assessments. While Hasegawa may have scored political advantage in the situation, there is no evidence he, Williamson or Reynolds took any action to cause Local 174 to fail to pay its per capita. Rather, responsibility for that failure lies with the local itself.
Accordingly, we DENY the protest as untimely filed and lacking in merit.
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 484
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
Todd Thompson
209 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11271
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
Wilfred Byington
21904 Marine View Drive #114
Des Moines, WA 98168
IBT Local 174
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Bob Hasegawa
3121 16th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98144
Dave Reynolds
IBT Local 763
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Scott Sullivan
IBT Local 174
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Steve Williamson
2800 1st Avenue
Suite 206
Seattle, WA 98121
Paul Drachler
Theiler, Douglas, Drachler & McKee, LLP
1904 Third Avenue
Suite 1030
Seattle, WA 98101-1123
Jeffrey Ellison
65 Cadillac Square
Suite 3727
Detroit, MI 48226