IN RE: ELIGIBILITY OF DUANE ALLEN, Local 614
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 63
Issued: January 31, 2006
OES Case No. E-06-019-012606-HQ
Jeffrey Duncan, member and delegate candidate in Local Union 614, filed an eligibility protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). He alleged that Duane Allen is ineligible for election as delegate to the 2006 IBT Convention under the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Steven R. Newmark investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
At the nomination meeting held January 8, 2006, Allen was nominated for delegate to the 2006 IBT convention. The protest alleges that the dues Allen has paid are less than the amount required by IBT constitution and local union bylaws.
TITAN records show that Allen paid dues timely for the 24-month eligibility period by check-off authorization to the local union.
Allen earns an hourly wage of approximately $22.00 as a Rite Aid warehouse employee. His monthly dues rate is $30.00. The local union calculated the monthly dues of all Rite Aid warehouse employees by averaging the hourly wages of those employees and multiplying that average by 2.5. The average hourly rate of Rite Aid warehouse employees is $12, according to the local union. Their monthly dues rate, therefore, is $30.00. Had Allen's dues been calculated on his rather than the average hourly wage, his monthly dues rate would be $55.00.
The check-off authorization Allen signed directs the employer to deduct from his wages the dues assessed by the local union. As such, Allen does not calculate the dues he pays; instead, the local union calculates the dues and notifies the employer of the amount to withhold from Allen's wages.
Analysis
Article VI, Section 1 of the Rules provides that "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; [and] (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."
Article X, Section 3(d) of the IBT constitution provides the following, in relevant part:
Effective July 1, 2002, the current rate of dues for all members whose hourly earnings rate is more than $11.00 shall be adjusted, based upon the hourly earnings rate or hourly flight pay at base rate or monthly guarantee in effect on that date, as follows:
(i) dues for members employed in an industry in which there is a legal right to strike, other than members employed as flight attendants or pilots in the airline industry, shall be increased by one-half times the hourly earnings rate; thereby establishing a minimum dues rate of two and one-half times the hourly earnings rate;
* * *
The hourly earnings are the hourly wage rate plus lump sum payments where such payments are in lieu of hourly wage increases and commissions where applicable, exclusive of overtime, premium pay, or fringe benefits. When calculating the rate of monthly dues based upon the formula set forth above, the hourly earnings shall be multiplied and rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Pursuant to this constitutional formula, Allen's monthly dues should be $55.00, instead of the $30.00 he is assessed monthly. However, the International Union has issued extensive guidelines to its local unions permitting, under particular circumstances, the local unions to calculate their members' monthly dues obligations by averaging the hourly wages of the members employed in particular job classifications by particular employers.
Whether the local union properly calculated Allen's dues is beyond the scope of this protest. It is, however, well-established that a member on dues check-off retains his good standing even if his dues were remitted late or not at all, provided he gave a check-off authorization and had sufficient earnings in the month from which dues could have been deducted. IBT Constitution, Article X, Section 5(c); Dunn, E9 (October 31, 1995); Reynozo, 2005 ESD 18 (October 25, 2005); aff'd, 06 EAM 05 (January 4, 2006). Extending this principle, a member on check-off whose dues remittance is less than the constitutionally required amount nonetheless retains his good standing, provided he had sufficient earnings to fund the properly calculated dues amount. The member's check-off authorization directs the employer to remit to the local union the full amount of his dues; if the local union miscalculates that amount, the member is not to suffer the prejudice of that miscalculation in the form of a declaration of ineligibility because the member has done all that is necessary to authorize remittance of the correct dues amount.
Accordingly, we DENY the protest and find Allen ELIGIBLE to run for delegate to the 2006 IBT convention.
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 Supervisor 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 the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 1725 K Street, N.W., Suite 1400, Washington, D.C. 20007-5135, all within the time prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Kenneth Conboy
2006 ESD 63
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001-2198
braymond@teamster.org
Sarah Riger, Staff Attorney
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001-2198
sriger@teamster.org
David J. Hoffa, Esq.
Hoffa 2006
30300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 324
Farmington Hills, MI 48834
David@hoffapllc.com
Barbara Harvey
645 Griswold Street
Suite 3060
Detroit, MI 48226
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210
ken@tdu.org
Judith Brown Chomsky
P.O. Box 29726
Elkins Park, PA 19027
jchomsky@igc.org
Stephen Ostrach
1863 Pioneer Parkway East, #217
Springfield, OR 97477-3907
saostrach@gmail.com
Jeffrey Duncan
1583 Giddings Road
Pontiac, MI 48348
Duane Allen
6432 Pontiac Lane
Waterford, MI 48327
Earl Walker, President
IBT Local Union 614
131 University Drive
Pontiac, MI 48342
William Broberg
1108 Fincastle Road
Lexington, KY 40502
wcbroberg@aol.com
Steven R. Newmark
1725 K Street, NW Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20005
snewmark@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com