February 14, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Albert Benack
1663 Arlington Avenue
Columbus, OH 43212
Gene Giacumbo
15 Village Road
Sea Bright, NJ 07760
Re: Election Office Case No. E-085-LU843-EOH
Gentlemen:
At Local Union 843’s nomination meeting on February 4, 1996, Gene Giacumbo, former International vice president and former president of Local Union 843, was nominated to run for delegate to the International convention. By letter received by the Election Officer on February 5, 1996, Albert Benack protests the eligibility of Mr. Giacumbo to run for delegate.[1] Specifically, Mr. Benack alleges that since Mr. Giacumbo has been suspended from union membership by the Independent Review Board (“IRB”) he is not currently eligible to run for delegate or to hold office, if elected.
Article VII, Section 1(a) of the Rules for the IBT 1995-1996 International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) provides:
Albert Benack
February 14, 1996
Page 1
To be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate or International Officer position, one must:
(1) Be a member in continuous good standing of the Local Union, with one’s dues paid to the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination for said position with no interruptions in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments;
(2) Be employed at the craft within the jurisdiction of the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination; and
(3) Be eligible to hold office if elected.
The investigation disclosed that Mr. Giacumbo was suspended from union membership and union office for six months and fined $1600 by the IRB in a decision issued October 31, 1995. In its decision, the IRB found that Mr. Giacumbo had permitted employees to join Local Union 843 in an attempt to influence the local union election, engaged in a pattern of ignoring the financial control requirements of the IBT constitution and local union bylaws, and embezzled and converted $1600 in IBT funds for his own use. The Opinion and Decision of the IRB in this matter was submitted for approval to Judge David Edelstein of the District Court for the Southern District of New York in Application XXV. Mr. Giacumbo filed a request for a stay of this disciplinary action with Judge Edelstein.[2]
Judge Edelstein rejected Mr. Giacumbo’s request for a stay and, on January 11, 1996, remanded Application XXV because, “. . .the sanctions imposed by the IRB are not commensurate with the severity of the charges leveled against Giacumbo . . .” In Re: Application XXV of the Independent Review Board, 88 Civ. 4486 (S.D.N.Y. January 11, 1996). He ordered the IRB to:
. . . reconsider the sanctions it seeks to impose on Giacumbo in light of the fact that the IRB has found that Giacumbo has brought reproach upon the IBT by facilitating union membership for improper purposes, breaching his fiduciary duties, violating Local 843 financial control provisions, and embezzling IBT
funds . . .
Albert Benack
February 14, 1996
Page 1
Judge Edelstein has ordered a reexamination of the sanctions leveled on Mr. Giacumbo because they do not punish him severely enough for the violations he has committed. Judge Edelstein did not order a reduction of Mr. Giacumbo’s punishment and did not order a stay of the operation of the IRB’s penalties, including his suspension. Mr. Giacumbo is therefore currently suspended from union membership and has been suspended since November 1995. Thus, he does not have the 24 consecutive months of good standing prior to his nomination required by the Rules.
Accordingly, it is the determination of the Election Officer that Mr. Giacumbo is not eligible to run for delegate or alternate delegate to the International convention.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham and Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 North Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, D.C. 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Peter V. Marks, Sr., Regional Coordinator
[1]Mr. Benack also asks that anyone nominated or seconded by Mr. Giacumbo also be declared ineligible. An examination of the nomination record indicates that Mr. Giacumbo was not the sole nominator or seconder of any candidate. The Rules at Article II, Section 5(e) require that a candidate need only be nominated by one member in good standing and seconded by one other member in good standing. Thus, a finding regarding Mr. Giacumbo’s eligibility in the present protest would have no effect on the validity of any nomination in which he participated.
[2]Mr. Giacumbo previously requested that the IRB stay its decision. This request was denied.