OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: KURT MARCHETTA, ) Protest Decision 2016 ESD 107
) Issued: February 10, 2016
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-123-012216-FW
__________________________________)
Kurt Marchetta, member of Local Union 542, 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 Local Union 542 president Phil Farias made an intimidating statement to Marchetta and another member, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Deborah Schaaf investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Protestor Marchetta and Adam King are delegate candidates in Local Union 542’s delegates and alternate delegates election. On January 20, 2016, the day before the local union’s nominations meeting, Marchetta and King visited the local union office to deliver written nominations and seconds and acceptances for several candidates.
They were invited into a conference room where president Farias and secretary-treasurer Jaime Vasquez spoke with them. Vasquez left the room for several minutes to make copies of the nominating documents. Marchetta told our investigator that, while Vasquez was gone, Farias told Marchetta and King that “it’s your right to participate, but it will cost the local $40,000 to run an election.” Marchetta told our investigator that Farias’s statement “made us feel as if we were a financial burden to the local and should think twice about moving forward in the process.”
Farias admitted making the statement but denied that it was intended to be intimidating or taken that way by Marchetta or King. According to Farias, he and Vasquez were opposition candidates who won the most recent local union election. They maintain an “open door” policy and communicate with members whenever they can. When Marchetta and King visited the union office, Farias and Vasquez followed their practice of meeting with the members and discussing their concerns. Farias told our investigator that Marchetta told him they were running for delegate because they want to get involved in the local union. Farias said he answered that running for delegate may not be the best way to do it. Farias said he explained to the men, “Look, I don’t have a problem with you running. You think it’s the right thing. We took out the local union leadership, so I get it. But it will cost the local $40,000 to run an election.” Farias said the best way to get involved in the local is to come in and talk about issues or complaints, and members are always welcome to do that. Farias said he was directing his comments primarily to King “because he was not involved in the local.” According to Farias, Marchetta was involved in organizing to vote down a UPS contract 3 years ago, and was not a newcomer to union activities. Farias said there was no animosity on either side during the conversation, and said, “I wasn’t trying to intimidate them, and Kurt wasn’t intimidated.”
King did not return our investigator’s several calls seeking his recounting of the meeting. Vasquez was not in the room or in a position to hear the exchange.
The next day at the nominations meeting, Marchetta and King were nominated and accepted nomination orally, in addition to the written nominations and acceptances they had submitted to the local union the previous day. Further, several other candidates were nominated. According to OES representative Michael Miller, who was present at the nominations meeting, there was little tension in the room during nominations, and both sides communicated well with each other, without intimidation, threat, or retaliation.
Article VII, Section 12(a) of the Rules guarantees to members the “right to participate in campaign activities, including the right to run for office, to support or oppose any candidate, to aid or campaign for any candidate, and to make personal campaign contributions.” Article VII, Section 12(g) reinforces this basic right through its prohibition of “[r]etaliation or threat of retaliation by the International Union, any subordinate body, any member of the IBT, any employer or other person or entity against a Union member, officer or employee for exercising any right guaranteed by this or any other Article of the Rules...”
We find that Farias’s statement did not violate the Rules. It did not threaten, expressly or by implication, any type of adverse action against Marchetta or King, including a threat to withdraw union services or support in the workplace,[1] a threat of union discipline,[2] or a threat of physical harm or violence.[3]
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:
Kathleen A. Roberts
Election Appeals Master
JAMS
620 Eighth Avenue, 34th 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 17th 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
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 31st Street, Suite 40
New York, NY 10001
lnikolaidis@lcnlaw.com
Julian Gonzalez
350 West 31st 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
Kurt Marchetta
942 Emerald St.
San Diego, CA 92109
Kurt_marchetta@hotmail.com
Teamsters Local Union 542
4666 Mission Gorge Place
San Diego, CA 92120
local@teamsters542.org
jvasquez@teamsters542.org
Adam King
4559Piute Pl.
San Diego, CA 92117
ajking722@gmail.com
Deborah Schaaf
1521 Grizzly Gulch
Helena, MT 59601
dschaaf@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
214 S. Main Street, Suite 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
EllisonEsq@aol.com