IN RE: RICHARD THOMPSON,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 540
Issued: November 5, 2001
OEA Case No. PR101311MW
Richard Thompson, a member of Local 325, 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 Local 325 principal officer Clifford Chentnik and business agent Greg Chockley improperly used union resources to campaign in the IBT International officer election.
Election Administrator representative Nancy Golen investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Chentnick is engaged in a campaign for reelection to local union office, opposing a slate headed by Thompson. He is a also an International officer candidate on the Tom Leedham Rank and File Power slate ("Leedham slate") for central region vice president. Thompson alleges that Chentnick called a Local 325 member on October 5, 2001 to campaign while he Chentnik was on union time, that he coerced that individual, that Chetnick and Chockley drove the local union's van to three work sites to campaign that same day and passed out International officer election and local union election campaign material, and also on that same day offered $1.00 for a local union election Thompson campaign button.
Chentnik states that the protested telephone conversation did not originate from the local's offices and took place while Chentnik was on vacation. He states that his conversation with the member was not coercive but simply an attempt to understand what caused the member's current political inclinations.
Chentnik further states that as a local union officer he has the right to use his local union-owned vehicle for personal business. Finally, Chentnik states that both he Chockley and used vacation time to campaign on October 5, 2001.
Chentnik also argues that the campaign button concerns only the local union officer election and is thus beyond the jurisdiction of the Office of the Election Administrator, and further argues that the protest is untimely, since it was filed on October 13, 2001, while the events in question occurred on October 5, 2001.
Our investigator interviewed the employee who received the protested October 5 phone call. He denied being coerced or threatened and recalled that the two limited their discussion to the local union officer election. Accordingly, we DENY this protest allegation because it is beyond our jurisdiction.
Much of the remaining allegations concern local union election campaign activity, although there is some evidence that the respondents also campaigned on October 5 for the Leedham slate, albeit, as indicated by the local union's vacation log, while on vacation time. We DENY these remaining allegations concerning the October 5 campaign conduct, however, because they are untimely, since the protest was not filed until October 13, 2001, some eight days after the challenged conduct.[1]
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 540
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 Lane
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
IBT Local 325
5533 Eleventh Street
Rockford, IL 61109
Clifford Chentnik
IBT Local 325
5533 Eleventh Street
Rockford, IL 61109
Greg Chockley
IBT Local 325
5533 Eleventh Street
Rockford, IL 61109
Richard Thompson
8319 Al-Ben-Ken Road
Roscoe, IL 61073
Nancy Golen
P.O. Box 577211
Chicago, IL 60657
[1] The protest is dated October 10, 2001, but was not faxed by Thompson to the Election Administrator until October 13, 2001.