OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: VERNON GAMMON, ) Protest Decision 2011 ESD 254
) Issued: May 12, 2011
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-249-040611-AT
____________________________________)
Vernon Gammon, secretary-treasurer and elected delegate of Local Union 391, 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 Claude Gray, local union president and unsuccessful candidate for delegate, Al Jones, a new business agent for Local Union 391, and Bobbie Hammer, administrative assistant to Gray, retaliated against Dan Taylor, a Local Union 391 shop steward and successful candidate for alternate delegate, because of Taylor’s membership on the Gammon/McGaha slate.
Election Supervisor representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
Local Union 391 president Claude Gray headed a slate of candidates, Gray/Bishop Experience Team, which competed against the Gammon-McGaha Team 391, headed by secretary-treasurer Vernon Gammon, in the local union’s delegates election. Ballots were counted on Friday, March 4, 2011. Gammon-McGaha defeated Gray/Bishop by 55% to 34%, with a third slate garnering the remaining votes.
Effective January 31, 2011, Al Jones was appointed assistant business agent for UPS in Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[1] Dan Taylor is a part-time UPS employee at that facility, working the noon sort (12:00-5:00 p.m.). He serves as a shop steward and is on the safety committee. Taylor has worked at UPS Greensboro for 22 years and has more seniority as a shop steward than any other steward at UPS Greensboro.
According to Taylor, Jones spent the first two weeks at the union hall learning his new job. He then came to UPS Greensboro for the first time on or around Valentine’s Day, February 14. Taylor stated that one of the first things Jones did was to remove him from the head shop steward position and replace him with another shop steward, Ken Harding. Taylor explained that the head shop steward position was not an official position but was a title he was given by a former business agent, Donnie Brown. Taylor stated that it was analogous to a lead job and that he was able to settle grievances not only in his department but also in other departments. Taylor stated that as the head shop steward he could resolve grievances throughout the UPS facility and act somewhat like a business agent when the business agent was absent from the facility.
Taylor stated that Jones told Taylor he wanted Ken Harding and another steward, Terri Wendroth, to gain additional experience by handling grievances that had previously been handled by Taylor. Taylor stated that although Harding was given the title of head shop steward, Taylor was still handling the bulk of the grievances, with Harding and Wendroth responsible for a smaller number.
Ken Harding has been a UPS employee for 21 years. He works as a maintenance mechanic and has been a shop steward for approximately 10 years. Harding stated that when Al Jones became the business agent there was a large backlog of grievances at UPS Greensboro. Jones asked Harding and Wendroth to assist in handling grievances in order to reduce the backlog. Harding stated that Jones asked him specifically to handle discipline and discharge grievances. Jones informed UPS management that he wanted Harding to be involved in discipline and discharge grievances. Harding denied that there was a position called the head shop steward position and that he was now the head shop steward. Harding stated that UPS management did not recognize a head shop steward position and that, despite his request that he be involved in discipline and discharge grievances, UPS often still dealt with Taylor in those grievances.
Jones confirmed that when he became business agent there was a large backlog of unresolved grievances. In addition, he said many members were upset because their grievances had been withdrawn without their knowledge. Jones stated that he saw a number of grievances at UPS Greensboro that had been withdrawn without the member’s signature and without the member’s knowledge. Jones stated that he determined that he needed additional steward assistance to resolve the backlog of grievances and that he wanted to change the practice of having a member’s grievance resolved without the member’s participation and knowledge. Jones stated that he did not replace Taylor as the head shop steward because there was no such position. However, he confirmed that he asked Harding and Wendroth to become more involved in the grievance process and to insure that members were involved in and knowledgeable about the resolution of grievances that directly affected them.
On March 18, Taylor filed internal union charges against Claude Gray and Al Jones. The charges were filed pursuant to the IBT Constitution, Article XIX, Sections 7 (2) & (10) and Local 391 Bylaws, Article XII, Section 5. In pertinent part, the charges alleged:
Since on or about January 31, 2011 Business Agent Jones has tried in several ways to intimidate me, undermind[2] my performance as a Shop Steward and has solicited other members employed by UPS to replace me as a Shop Steward. Business Agent Jones is doing this at the instruction and guidance of President Claude Gray. I feel this is being done due to the fact that I was a candidate running for Alternate Delegate on the Gammon-McGaha Team 391 slate, the opposing slate of President, Claude Gray. These actions did not start until after President Gray found out I was a candidate.
On March 24, secretary-treasurer Gammon provided Jones a copy of Taylor’s charge and notified that the local union executive board would set a hearing date. The hearing has now been scheduled for Friday, May 13.
On March 31, steward Wendroth conducted a membership drive at UPS Greensboro[3]. She said she started at about 3:30 p.m. and continued until 5:30 p.m. She was joined by Ken Harding, who asked her when he was leaving work if she wanted assistance. The shift change has approximately 400 employees going into work (twilight sort) and the same number leaving work (noon sort). Approximately ten new members joined the union as the result of this shift change campaign. While assisting Wendroth, Harding said he and Wendroth heard a lot of complaints from employees about the union and the representation they were receiving. Harding called Jones and told him to come to UPS Greensboro because of these complaints.
Jones went directly to the site. He said he wanted to meet members and hear their opinions about the union representation they were receiving. He also saw this as an opportunity to obtain written evidence to be used at the hearing on the charges filed by Taylor against him and Gray. To that end, he brought administrative assistant Bobbie Hammer with him to notarize statements members made about Taylor’s representation of them. Eighteen statements about Taylor – all of them critical of his performance – were written and notarized during the shift change. Many of the statements claimed that Taylor permits UPS supervisors to perform bargaining unit work in violation of the contract; two such statements quoted Taylor saying that such work by supervision “makes good business sense” for UPS. Others faulted Taylor for siding more often with management than with the membership. One claimed that Taylor “coached” management on how to deal with an issue presented by steward Wendroth.
Wendroth and Harding assisted with the effort to obtain statements about Taylor’s representation. Christina Clark, a union member employed at UPS Greensboro, told our investigator she left work that day at approximately 4:15 p.m. and was approached by Wendroth, who asked her if she would sign something. Clark replied: “I am already a member.” Wendroth asked Clark to sign a statement that Clark would not use Taylor as a union representative. Clark stated “no.” Clark stated that Wendroth said Taylor has charges against that man over there and pointed to Jones. Clark did not know Jones, so Wendroth introduced the two. Jones greeted Clark, stating he was the new business agent; according to Clark, Jones did not ask her about Taylor or ask her to sign a statement.
Bobbie Hammer works as the administrative assistant to Gray and was given permission by Gray to accompany Jones in order to obtain notarized statements. Gray stated that he authorized sending Hammer to UPS because he had an internal union charge filed against him and he wanted notarized statements that he could use in his defense. Gray stated that established executive board precedent requires that testimony may be presented in only two forms: through the personal appearance of a witness at the hearing, or by notarized statement.
Analysis
Taylor filed the allegation that business agent Al Jones removed Dan Taylor from his position as head shop steward, tried to intimidate him, undermined his performance as steward, and solicited other members employed by UPS to replace him as steward in retaliation for Taylor’s activity in the delegate election as an internal union charge pursuant to the IBT Constitution and local union bylaws on March 18, 2011 by delivering the charge to Gammon, the secretary-treasurer.
The instant protest, filed by Gammon on April 6, recapitulates Taylor’s charge.
Gammon’s protest is not timely filed. Article XIII, Section 2(b) requires that protests, including those alleging retaliation for activity protected by the Rules, be filed within two working days of the date the protestor “becomes aware or reasonably should have become aware of the action or such protests shall be waived.” Gammon waived his right to file this protest by waiting some three weeks after receiving Taylor’s charge before filing this protest.
The conduct of business agent Jones and administrative assistant Hammer in gathering and notarizing statements about Taylor is causally linked to Taylor’s filing of internal union charges against Jones. There was no evidence presented that but for the charges filed by Taylor, Jones and Hammer would have solicited statements about Taylor. Whether the conduct of Jones and Hammer was proper is a matter for the local union to resolve.
Accordingly, we DENY the 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, NY 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 254DISTRIBUTION 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
Vernon Gammon, Secretary–Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 391
3910 Teamsters Place
Colfax, NC 27235
vgammon@teamsterslocal391.org
Claude Gray, President
Teamsters Local Union 391
P.O. Box 35405
Greensboro, NC 27425
cgray65663@aol.com
J. Griffin Morgan
Elliot Pishko Morgan
426 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
jgmorgan@epmlaw.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