IN RE: MIKE WEBB, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2011 ESD 139
Issued: February 25, 2011
OES Case No. P-152-021711-AT
Mike Webb, member of Local Union 391 and candidate for delegate, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2010-2011 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). The protest alleged that Local Union 391 failed to maintain accurate mailing addresses of its membership; the protest also alleged that the secretary-treasurer filed a frivolous eligibility protest against a candidate for the purpose of intimidating the candidate.
Election Supervisor representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
1. Mailing list allegation
The protest alleged that Local Union 391 has failed to maintain "true records" of its members' addresses.
Investigation showed that of the 8,029 ballots mailed on February 8 in the delegates and alternate delegates election, 252 (3.1%) were returned as undeliverable. Of these, the post office provided 36 forwarding addresses that were used to re-mail ballots. As of February 23, local union staff, working with business agents, employer human resources departments and Central States Health and Welfare Funds, obtained corrected addresses for 143 of the remaining 216 members whose ballots were returned with no forwarding addresses. The remaining 73 incorrect addresses represents less than 1.0% of the total membership.
Investigation further showed diligent effort by the local union over the past eleven months has reduced the percentage of incorrect addresses on its membership list. On March 26, 2010, local union president Claude Gray distributed lists of members with incorrect addresses to business agents and directed them to obtain correct addresses. On October 26, 2010 and about every three weeks thereafter through early January 2011, business agents were supplied with new lists of members with incorrect addresses and directed to obtain correct addresses. In addition, on December 6, 2010, secretary-treasurer Vernon Gammon directed that a notice be posted on all worksite bulletin boards informing members of the upcoming delegates election and asking that they make sure the local union had their correct address on file.
On December 16, 2010, the local union mailed 8,055 nominations meeting notices. The post office returned 452 pieces as undeliverable (5.6%). Of those, 65 addresses were corrected from the forwarding address label provided by the postal service.
On or about February 8, 2011, protester Mike Webb's New Generation Slate mailed campaign literature to approximately 2,000 of Local Union 391's members. The New Generation Slate reported that it received approximately 65 returns (3.2%) from the post office, with most marked as having an insufficient address. The return rate of 3.2% reported by New Generation mirrors the returned ballots rate of 3.1% for ballots mailed to the entire membership the same date.
Article II, Section 4(a) of the Rules requires that a local union submit a proposed local union election plan for approval by the Election Supervisor that includes an explanation of the efforts the union will make to correct incorrect addresses before the mailing ballots. In its plan, Local Union 391 stated it would have the TITAN operator update the local union's mailing list before preparing address labels used to mail nominations meeting notices and ballots. No member commented on or challenged the local union's plan to correct incorrect addresses.
By printing out incorrect address reports from TITAN and providing them to the business agents and organizers with instructions to obtain current addresses, Local Union 391 followed the procedure stated in its local union election plan. In addition, the local union posted a notice on worksite bulletin boards requesting members to call the local union and correct their addresses. The percentage of mail returned as undeliverable has trended downward from the mailing of the nominations meeting notices through the mailing of ballots. We find no merit to protestor's the allegation that the officers and staff of Local Union 391 have failed to maintain an accurate membership mailing list. Accordingly, we DENY this aspect of the protest.
2. Alleged frivolous eligibility challenge.
At Local Union 391's nominations meeting held January 8, 2011, a total of 51 candidates were nominated, 30 as delegates and 21 as alternate delegates. Subsequent to nominations, a single eligibility protest was filed by secretary-treasurer Gammon against candidate Joseph Garner. The protest alleged that Garner was ineligible for nomination because he was not actively employed at the craft on account of a work-related injury that caused a lengthy period of disability. After careful analysis of Garner's dues payment record, his status as an elected trustee of Local Union 391, the relevant provisions of the IBT constitution and the Rules, the Election Supervisor found Garner eligible and denied the protest. Eligibility of Garner, 2011 ESD 78 (January 24, 2011). The investigation of the protest disclosed no evidence that the protest was filed frivolously, in bad faith or to intimidate a nominated candidate. The Election Supervisor's decision was not appealed.
This protest was received more than three weeks after the Election Supervisor decided Garner. No excuse or explanation was offered for the delay in filing. Accordingly, we DENY the claim that the secretary-treasurer of Local Union 391 filed a frivolous protest for the purpose of intimidating a candidate; we also DENY it as untimely filed.
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
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
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, 1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421 L, Washington, D.C. 20006, 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
2011 ESD 139
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
braymond@teamster.org
David J. Hoffa
Hoffa Hall 2011
1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Ste. 730
Washington, D.C. 20036
hoffadav@hotmail.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210-0128
ken@tdu.org
Barbara Harvey
1394 E. Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48207
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Fred Gegare
P.O. Box 9663
Green Bay, WI 54308-9663
kirchmanb@yahoo.com
Scott D. Soldon
3541 N. Summit Avenue
Shorewood, WI 53211
scottsoldon@gmail.com
Fred Zuckerman, President
Teamsters Local Union 89
3813 Taylor Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40215
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Robert M. Colone, Esq.
P.O. Box 272
Sellersburg, IN 47172-0272
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Carl Biers
Box 424, 315 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
info@SandyPope2011.org
Julian Gonzalez
Lewis, Clifton & Nikolaidis, P.C.
350 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10001-5013
jgonzalez@lcnlaw.com
Claude Gray, President
Teamsters Local Union 391
P.O. Box 35405
Greensboro, NC 27425
cgray65663@aol.com
Vernon Gammon, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 391
3910 Teamsters Place
Colfax, NC 27235
vgammon@teamsterslocal391.org
Mike Webb
1200 Oak Grove Church Road
Wake Forest, NC 27587
d2h2w2@yahoo.com
J. Griffin Morgan
Elliot Pishko Morgan
426 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
jgmorgan@epmlaw.com
Maureen Geraghty
426 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
mg@geraghtylawfirm.com
Maria Ho
Office of the Election Supervisor
1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421 L
Washington, D.C. 20006
mho@ibtvote.org
Kathryn Naylor
Office of the Election Supervisor
1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421 L
Washington, D.C. 20006
knaylor@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
214 S. Main Street, Ste. 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
EllisonEsq@aol.com