IN RE: ALYCE PRUITT, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2011 ESD 199
Issued: April 4, 2011
OES Case No. P-224-031511-SO
Alyce Pruitt, member of Local Union 728, 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 the Rules were violated because she was not sent a ballot.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
Local Union 728's election for nine delegate and three alternate delegate positions was contested by two full slates of candidates and a single independent candidate. The local union contracted with Merriman River Group to administer its election. Following the nominations meeting held January 15, the local union posted on all worksite bulletin boards a notice of election which, among other things, stated that ballots would be mailed to members on February 16; the notice also provided a toll-free number members were to call if they did not receive a ballot.
Merriman mailed 6,966 ballot packages to the full membership list of the local union as scheduled on February 16. Protestor Pruitt stated she did not receive a ballot. She phoned to request a duplicate on March 2. Investigation showed her request was communicated to the local union election committee, which mailed her a duplicate ballot on March 4. An observer for the slate Pruitt supports verified that Pruitt's duplicate ballot package was prepared, along with ballot packages for other members, further verifying that the collection of ballot packages were mailed on March 4. Pruitt stated that she did not receive the duplicate ballot package either and was unable to vote in the election.
Pruitt confirmed that she has resided at the same address for the entire time she has been a member of Local Union 728, and she has received mail from the local union and the Members First slate at that address. Investigation showed that the address to which her original and duplicate ballots were mailed is the correct address.
Analysis
The Rules require a local union in a contested delegates election to mail ballots to all ballot-qualified members. We find that Local Union 728 complied with this requirement with respect to protestor Pruitt, first by mailing her a ballot package on February 16 and again with a duplicate ballot package on March 4. We further find that the address used by the local union for each mailing was Pruitt's correct address.
It is unfortunate that Pruitt did not receive either ballot package and therefore was unable to participate in the election. Nonetheless, the local union did not violate the Rules with respect to her ballot.
Accordingly, we DENY this protest.
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 199
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
Eric Robertson
375 Spence Road
Fairburn, GA 30213
e_robertson@yahoo.com
Alyce Pruitt
1018 Bonita Circle
Jonesboro, GA 30238
cakes33@gmail.com
Mike Drummond
Restore the Power Slate
280 Birkdale Drive
Fayetteville, GA 30215
ma74931@bellsouth.net
Robert Wood
ups1973@bellsouth.net
Jimi Richards, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 728
2540 Lakewood Avenue, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30315
jimi_richards@bellsouth.net
Randall Brown, President
Teamsters Local Union 728
2540 Lakewood Avenue, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30315
jrichards@teamsterslocal728.org
Dolores Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
hall1000@cox.net
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
