Protest Decisions

OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR

for the

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS

IN RE: TEAMSTERS UNITED,               )           Protest Decision 2015 ESD 53­ (corrected)

                                                                        )           Issued: November 24, 2015

            Protestor.                                           )           OES Case No. P-068-110315-NA     

____________________________________)

            Teamsters United filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2015-2016 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).  The protest alleged that some 70 local unions violated the Rules by failing to respond to emailed and faxed requests that they produce worksite lists to the slate.

            Teamsters United is a slate of candidates for International office.  The slate achieved accredited status on September 4, 2015.  Article VII, Section 1(b) grants to accredited candidates for International office, among others, “the right to a current list of all sites, with corresponding addresses, where any and all Union members work.  Requests for such worksite lists shall be made to the pertinent Local Union’s Secretary-Treasurer or principal officer in writing and shall be honored within five (5) days.”

            Teamsters United made email requests of hundreds of local unions in mid-September for their worksite lists.  Most local unions responded to these requests; scores did not, however.  For the local unions who did not supply the requested worksite lists, Teamsters United made faxed requests to them in early October 2015.  The slate filed this protest against local unions who did not supply the worksite lists in response to the faxed requests.

            On November 4, 2015, the protestor requested to withdraw its protest with respect to Local Union 455, as that local union had supplied its worksite list to Teamsters United on October 7, 2015 but inadvertently was named in the protest.  Teamsters United has also requested to withdraw its protest with respect to Local Union 174, as that local union supplied its worksite list on October 13, 2015 but was nonetheless named in the protest.  Concluding that withdrawal of the protest with respect to Local Unions 455 and 174 serves the purposes of the Rules, we deem this protest WITHDRAWN with respect to those local unions.

            Teamsters United supplied our regional directors and adjunct regional directors with copies of the emails and faxes by which the worksite lists were requested.  Our staff contacted the subject local unions; all except one responded by producing the requested worksite lists to Teamsters United, either by email or by post.  For all the local unions who produced worksite lists through this process, we deem this protest RESOLVED and issue no further remedy with respect to these local unions.[1] 

Local Union 456 was named as a respondent in the protest.  Teamsters United presented proof that it emailed a request for the worksite list to an email address associated with Local Union 456 on September 18, 2015, and further, that it faxed a request to the local union using a fax number of the local union on October 3, 2015.  The local union is in trusteeship.  Its assistant trustee, Bernadette Kelly, declined to produce the worksite list to Teamsters United absent a written request therefor, denying that the local union received either the email or faxed requests.  Teamsters United faxed a third request to Local Union 456 on November 13, 2015, and the local union has now promised to produce the list.  However, we SEVER the allegation against Local Union 456 to investigate its assertion that it never received the email request Teamsters United made on September 18, 2015 and the fax request Teamsters United transmitted on October 3, 2015. 

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:

Kathleen A. Roberts

Election Appeals Master

JAMS

620 Eighth Avenue, 34^th floor

New York, NY 10018

kroberts@jamsadr.com

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, 1050 17^th Street, N.W., Suite 375, Washington, D.C. 20036, all within the time prescribed above.  A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.

                                                                        Richard W. Mark

                                                                        Election Supervisor

cc:        Kathleen A. Roberts

            2015 ESD 53 

DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):

Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

25 Louisiana Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20001

braymond@teamster.org

David J. Hoffa

1701 K Street NW, Ste 350

Washington DC 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

Teamsters United

315 Flatbush Avenue, #501

Brooklyn, NY 11217

info@teamstersunited.org

Louie Nikolaidis

350 West 31^st Street, Suite 40

New York, NY 10001

lnikolaidis@lcnlaw.com

Julian Gonzalez

350 West 31^st Street, Suite 40

New York, NY 10001

jgonzalez@lcnlaw.com

David O’Brien Suetholz

515 Park Avenue

Louisville, KY 45202

dave@unionsidelawyers.com

Fred Zuckerman

P.O. Box 9493

Louisville, KY 40209

fredzuckerman@aol.com

Teamsters Local Union 456

bfmcculloch@gmail.com

tgesualdi252@yahoo.com

Jeffrey Ellison

214 S. Main Street, Suite 210

Ann Arbor, MI 48104

EllisonEsq@aol.com