March 18, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Ronald Catti & Barney Ciaccio
March 18, 1996
Page 1
Ronald Catti
8509 17th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11214
Barney Ciaccio
522 Glen Court
Oceanside, NY 11572
Jack Ruggiero
156-19 77th Street
Howard Beach, NY 11414
Thomas P. Puccio, Court-Apptd. Trustee
Teamsters Local Union 295
435 Hudson Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Ronald Catti & Barney Ciaccio
March 18, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. E-122-LU295-EOH
Gentlemen:
Jack Ruggiero was nominated to run for delegate to the International convention at Local Union 295’s nomination meeting on February 25, 1996. On February 27, the Election Officer received a protest from Ronald Catti and Barney Ciaccio in which they challenged
Mr. Ruggiero’s eligibility to run for delegate. Messrs. Catti and Ciaccio allege that
Mr. Ruggiero failed to maintain 24 consecutive months of good standing with regard to his payment of dues prior to his nomination as required by the Rules for the IBT 1995-1996 International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).
Article VII, Section 1(a) of the Rules provides:
To be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate or International Officer position, one must:
Ronald Catti & Barney Ciaccio
March 18, 1996
Page 1
(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.
In addition, Article X, Section 5(c) of the IBT Constitution states, in pertinent part:
[A] member on dues checkoff whose employer fails to make a proper deduction during any month in which the member has earnings from which the dues could have been deducted, shall not lose good standing status for that month. In such an event, the Local Union shall notify the member of his employer’s failure and payment shall be made by the member within thirty (30) days of said notice in order to retain good standing status.
Mr. Ruggiero’s TITAN record indicates that he is a check-off dues payer and that his dues have been posted late for most months in the relevant 24-month period. The investigation revealed, however, that Mr. Ruggiero had sufficient earnings from which his dues could have been deducted in each month for which the record reflects late dues. The late postings, therefore, were caused by employer or local union error and are not relevant to a determination of Mr. Ruggiero’s eligibility.
Accordingly, it is the determination of the Election Officer that Mr. Ruggiero is 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 & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Ronald Catti & Barney Ciaccio
March 18, 1996
Page 1
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 N. Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 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
Arthur Wasserman, Regional Coordinator