OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: HOFFA-HALL 2011, ) Protest Decision 2011 ESD 327
) Issued: September 26, 2011
Protestor. ) OES Case Nos. P-330-092211-SO
____________________________________)
Hoffa-Hall 2011 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 Aaron Belk, candidate for IBT South region vice president on the Gegare-Sheard slate, distributed campaign material using employer resources, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
On September 19, 2011, Aaron Belk mailed some 465 envelopes containing campaign literature. The envelopes were hand-addressed as follows:
Teamster Steward/Members
Teamster Bulletin Board
[Employer name]
[Employer worksite street address]
[Employer worksite city, state & zip code]
Each envelope listed Belk's name and home address as the return address and bore the handwritten words "Attn: Please post on bulletin board" at the lower left edge. Each envelope contained four campaign flyers; three promoted Belk's candidacy and the fourth promoted the election of all candidates on the Gegare-Sheard slate.
The Rules generally prohibit use of employer resources for campaigning.[1] Mailing of campaign literature to an employer's worksite address for delivery to a union steward is not permitted, as it uses employer resources (the worksite address and the employer's internal mail delivery system) to transmit the mail to the addressee.
In addition, use of union worksite bulletin boards for campaigning is generally prohibited, absent the rare circumstance where such boards are not used exclusively for union postings and are used for general purposes. Posting of campaign materials on bulletin boards used exclusively for union postings not only uses union resources (the board and the steward who posts there) but also impermissibly communicates to the membership that the union supports the candidate whose material is posted.
For these reasons, Belk violated the Rules by mailing campaign literature to worksites and requesting that it be posted on union bulletin boards. Accordingly, we GRANT the protest.
Remedy
When the Election Supervisor determines that the Rules have been violated, he "may take whatever remedial action is deemed appropriate." Article XIII, Section 4. In fashioning the appropriate remedy, the Election Supervisor views the nature and seriousness of the violation as well as its potential for interfering with the election process.
We order Belk to cease and desist from using employer or union resources to campaign.
The balance of our remedial order is directed to the potential impact of Belk's improper action on the election. Investigation showed that the envelopes were sent to employers under the jurisdiction of 31 local unions in the South region. No mailings were sent to employers under the jurisdiction of an addition 8 local unions in that region.
Investigation found no instance, however, where the material actually was posted on the union boards. In many cases, the employer discarded the envelope rather than deliver it to the steward. In other cases, the steward received the envelope but did not post the contents on any board. On Friday, September 23, 2011, our investigator contacted local unions to inquire whether Belk's material was posted on worksite bulletin boards. No affirmative response was received.
We did not conduct a comprehensive survey of the locations to which Belk sent the material to determine whether the material was posted. Accordingly, to insure that campaign literature mailed to employers' worksite addresses has not been and is not posted on union bulletin boards, we have faxed instructions to the 31 local unions where the material was sent directing them to inspect the union bulletin boards at specific worksites under their jurisdiction and remove campaign literature that appears there.
We order no further relief. In particular, we reject the protestor's request that Belk be required to fund a mailing of the protestor's campaign literature. Our investigation found no evidence that the literature was actually posted on any bulletin board. The only segment of the membership exposed to the material would have been the shop stewards at the few employers who did not discard the mailing, and the evidence is that none of them posted Belk's material. We find that a mailing of candidate literature is not necessary where the record indicates Belk's literature was not displayed.
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 327
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
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
Dolores Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
hall1000@cox.net
Maria S. 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
Office of the Election Supervisor
for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
1801 K Street, N.W., SUITE 421 L
Washington, D.C. 20006
202-429-8683
877-317-2011 Toll Free
202-429-6809 Facsimile
electionsupervisor@ibtvote.org
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
September 26, 2011
Notice to Local Union ___
Candidates for IBT International office may not use employer or union resources to campaign. We have found that Aaron Belk, candidate for IBT South region vice president, mailed campaign literature to stewards at employer worksite addresses and requested that the material be posted on union bulletin boards located there. Belk's request impermissibly used employer and union resources to campaign, in violation of the Election Rules.
Belk sent campaign literature to the certain employers under the jurisdiction of Local Union ___. Please inspect the union bulletin boards at the following worksites, remove any campaign literature posted there, and notify OES if campaign literature is found there.
[List of employers]
The Election Supervisor has issued this decision in Hoffa-Hall 2011, 2011 ESD 327 (September 26, 2011). You may read this decision at http://www.ibtvote.org/protests/2010/2011esd327.htm.
Any protest you have regarding your rights under the Election Rules or any conduct by any person or entity that violates the Rules should be filed with Richard W. Mark, 1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421L, Washington, D.C. 20006, telephone: 877-317-2011, fax: 202-429-6809, email: electionsupervisor@ibtvote.org.
[1] Exceptions exist for campaigning in employer parking lots and in non-work areas during non-work times, and posting of campaign flyers on employer bulletin boards where pre-existing rights to post exist.