OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: KIMBERLY SCHULTZ, ) Protest Decision 2016 ESD 212
) Issued: May 13, 2016
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-284-051016-SO
____________________________________)
Kimberly Schultz, member of Local Union 2011, 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 2011 failed or refused to distribute to members, by email and bulletin board postings, a notice required by our decision in Schultz, 2016 ESD 184 (April 29, 2016).
In Schultz, 2016 ESD 156 (April 8, 2016), we found that conduct of candidate William Walsh violated the Rules. However, we held that the violation did not affect the results of the election. Accordingly, we denied the protest.
Schultz appealed. The Election Appeals Master affirmed our finding that the conduct violated the Rules but reversed our ultimate holding and concluded that the violation may have affected the outcome of the election. Accordingly, the Election Appeals Master ordered that the Local Union 2011 delegates and alternate delegates election be rerun. Schultz, 16 EAM 17 (April 25, 2016).
To implement the decision of the Election Appeals Master, we ordered the following in Schultz, 2016 ESD 184 (April 29, 2016):
- The previous election results in Local Union 2011 delegates and alternate delegates election are voided.
- Ballots for the rerun election will be mailed Tuesday, May 3, 2016 and counted Friday, May 27, 2016.
- The notice of election to be included in ballot packages will indicate that it is a rerun election. It further will state: “The results of the LU 2011 delegate election were voided as the result of an election protest. This is an OES supervised rerun of the delegate election.”
- Local Union 2011 has an email list comprising a substantial number of its members, and it uses that list to transmit messages to the membership. Local Union 2011 is ordered to transmit the notice attached to this decision to the email addresses for its members no later than Monday, May 2, 2016. This notice distribution is strictly remedial in nature and is intended to correct the Rules violation previously found, educate the members as to the requirements of the Rules, and inform them that the election will be rerun and the previous election results voided. The subject line of the email shall read: “Rerun of Local Union 2011 delegates election.”
- Local Union 2011 maintains a website and a Facebook page. Local Union 2011 is ordered to post the notice attached to this decision on its website and Facebook page no later than Monday, May 2, 2016. The posting shall remain on the website through and including May 27, 2016.
- William Walsh is ordered to cease and desist from further Rules violations.
The current protest alleged that Local Union 2011 did not comply with points 4 and 5 from the foregoing list. Investigation showed this to be true. Thus, although our decision was served on the local union by emailing it to the email address provided us by that organization, which is monitored by office clerical staff, and also served on Les Cantrell, statewide coordinator for the local union, on April 29, 2016, with a corrected copy forwarded to the same email addresses on May 1, 2016, the local union did not email the notice to the list of members for whom the local union maintains an email list until May 11, 2016, nine days after the date required by our order and eight days after ballots were mailed for the rerun election. Further, the notice was not posted to the local union’s website and Facebook page until May 13, 2016. An office clerical employed by the local union as well as counsel for the local union both agreed that the local union had received the two emails that forwarded the original and corrected decision.
The failure of the local union to comply with our order concerning notice distribution and posting meant that no official announcement and explanation for the rerun election reached the membership before they received ballots for that election. This failure by the local union impermissibly interfered with the Election Supervisor’s authority under Article I of the Rules to insure an informed electorate.
To remedy this violation, we order Local Union 2011 to take the following actions:
- Local Union 2011 is ordered to transmit the notice attached to this decision to the email addresses for its members no later than Monday, May 16, 2016. This notice distribution is strictly remedial in nature and is intended to correct the Rules violation previously found, educate the members as to the requirements of the Rules, and inform them that the election is being rerun and the previous election results have been voided. The subject line of the email shall read: “Rerun of Local Union 2011 delegates election.”
- Local Union 2011 is ordered to mail the notice attached to this decision to its members by first class mail no later than Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Nothing shall be included in the envelopes other than the notice. We order this first class mailing because evidence indicates that the email list Local Union 2011 maintains contains functional email addresses for slightly more than half its members only.
- Local Union 2011 maintains a website and a Facebook page. Local Union 2011 is ordered to post the notice attached to this decision on its website and Facebook page no later than Monday, May 16, 2016. The posting shall be placed on the Local Union 2011 website in a conspicuous position immediately below the “slide show” at the center-top of the page. The posting shall remain on the website through and including May 27, 2016.
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
2016 ESD 212
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
Kimberly Schultz
18360 NE 22 Avenue
N. Miami Beach, FL 33160
schultzlegal@gmail.com
Les Cantrell
Lcantrell2011@aol.com
Ken Wood
Bill Walsh
ibtlocal2011@aol.com
Holly Van Horsten
Kathleen M. Phillips
Phillips, Richard & Rind, P.A.
9360 SW 72 Street, Suite 283
Miami, FL 33173
kphillips@phillipsrichard.com
hvanhorsten@phillipsrichard.com
Dolores Hall
1000 Belmont Pl
Metairie, LA
dhall@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
214 S. Main Street, Suite 212
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
EllisonEsq@aol.com
Office of the Election Supervisor
for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
1050 17th Street, N.W., Suite 375
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-429-8683
844-428-8683 Toll Free
202-774-5526 Facsimile
ElectionSupervisor@ibtvote.org
www.ibtvote.org
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION 2011
Local Union 2011 has been ordered to rerun its delegates and alternate delegates election because of an Election Rules violation that may have affected the results of the previous election. The election results in the previous delegates and alternate delegates election have been voided. Ballots for the rerun election were mailed to members on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 and will be counted on Friday, May 27, 2016. Local Union 2011 was required to send you notice of the reasons for the rerun election on May 2, 2016 and post that notice on its website and Facebook pages at that time. This notice is being issued because the local union failed to distribute it as originally required.
If you have already cast your ballot in this rerun election and wish to change your vote, you may request a new ballot by calling Local Union 2011 at (813) 621-1391, extension 9.
The election is being rerun because the Election Supervisor found that William Walsh, a candidate on the Teamsters Strong slate, violated the Election Rules by communicating to members, through a Facebook page that had been associated with the local union, that Local Union 2011 endorsed Walsh and the Teamsters Strong candidates when the local union did not and could not do so under the Election Rules. Local Union 2011 must remain neutral in the election. No candidate may accept an endorsement of his candidacy by a local union, and no candidate may report that an endorsement has been made by a local union when it has not.
The Election Supervisor will not permit any such violations of the Election Rules.
You may read the decisions of the Election Supervisor and Election Appeals Master in Schultz, 2016 ESD 156 (April 8, 2016), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 16 EAM 17 (April 25, 2016) at https://www.ibtvote.org/Protest-Decisions/esd2015/2016esd156 and https://www.ibtvote.org/Protest-Decisions/eam2015/2016EAM017.
Any protest you have regarding your rights under the Rules or any conduct by any person or entity that violates the Rules should be filed with Richard W. Mark, 1050 17th Street, N.W., Suite 375, Washington, D.C. 20036, telephone: 844-428-8683, fax: 202-774-5526,
email: electionsupervisor@ibtvote.org.
This is an official notice prepared and approved by Richard W. Mark,
Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.