OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: MICHAEL IBARRA, ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 87
) Issued: March 19, 2021
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-072-020621-FW
____________________________________)
Michael Ibarra, member of Local Union 848, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2020-2021 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). The protest alleged that Ibarra was assaulted while campaigning on the parking lot of SeaLogix and that the assault was condoned by a business agent of the local union.
Election Supervisor representative Jeffrey Ellison investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Local Union 848 elected 9 delegates and 5 alternate delegates to the IBT convention. The election for delegate was contested between a full slate of 9 candidates and Ibarra, an independent candidate.
Ibarra’s protest arose from campaign activity at SeaLogix in Long Beach CA. The protest alleged that he was assaulted on February 5, 2021, when campaigning in the employer’s parking lot where employees park their vehicles. The protest alleged retaliation for protected activity, which if proven would violate Article VII, Section 12(g). This aspect of the protest remains under investigation and will be addressed in a future decision.
The protest also alleged interference with Ibarra’s campaign rights under Article VII, Section 12(e), because as the result of the alleged assault he was not permitted to continue his campaign activity at that location.
Investigation showed that Ibarra campaigned for an hour during the 5 p.m. shift change at SeaLogix on February 4. The next morning, he campaigned there again for an hour at the 5 a.m. shift change. On these two occasions, Ibarra reported to our investigator that he campaigned without interference from any person.
Ibarra departed the lot at approximately 6 a.m. on February 5 to go to another location to campaign. He returned to SeaLogix between 7:05 and 7:10 a.m., according to his recollection. Shortly after resuming his campaign activity at SeaLogix, Ibarra told our investigator he was confronted by a number of individuals, who accosted him and forced him from the premises. Police records show that the police were called twice, once by a person from SeaLogix and the second time by Ibarra. The initial contact to police, at 7:16 a.m., reported an “unwelcome subject who refuses to leave.” The second contact was Ibarra’s complaint, at 7:29 a.m., alleging that he had been “242d.”[1]
Ballots in the local union delegates election were tallied on March 11, 2021. On 718 valid ballots counted, Ibarra tallied 119 votes. The 9 candidates successfully elected ranged from 498 to 573 votes. As such, the margin between Ibarra’s tally and the successful delegate candidate with the fewest votes was 379 votes.
Investigation showed that 115 members of Local Union 848 are employed at SeaLogix. Of these, 26 cast valid ballots.
We consider Ibarra’s allegation that the actions that resulted in the alleged forcible removal of him from the SeaLogix parking lot violated his parking lot access rights granted by Article VII, Section 12(e). Because of the pendency of the retaliation portion of the investigation, we deferred decision on this issue for post-election consideration under Article XIII, Section 2(f)(2), which requires that we determine whether the removal “may have affected the outcome of the election.” Article XIII, Section 3(b). Assuming without deciding that Ibarra’s parking lot access rights were violated by the alleged forcible removal of him from the SeaLogix parking lot, we conclude that the standard established by Article XIII, Section 3(b) has not been reached because the total number of members employed at SeaLogix is less than one-third of the margin between Ibarra’s tally and that of the successful candidate with the fewest votes. We note further that Ibarra campaigned at SeaLogix twice previously without interference.
Accordingly, we DENY the portion of Ibarra’s protest challenging his removal from the SeaLogix parking lot.
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. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.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, all within the time prescribed above. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones
2021 ESD 87
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
braymond@teamster.org
Edward Gleason
egleason@gleasonlawdc.com
Patrick Szymanski
szymanskip@me.com
Will Bloom
wbloom@dsgchicago.com
Tom Geoghegan
tgeoghegan@dsgchicago.com
Rob Colone
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Barbara Harvey
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Kevin Moore
Mooregp2021@gmail.com
F.C. “Chris” Silvera
fitzverity@aol.com
Fred Zuckerman
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
ken@tdu.org
Michael Ibarra
Calhunter13@yahoo.com
Eric Tate
Tate32@hotmail.com
Michael Miller
Miller.michael.j@verizon.net
Deborah Schaaf
dschaaf@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com
[1] Section 242 of the California Penal Code prohibits “inflicting any willful and unlawful use of force or violence on another person.” The police report reference to “242d” is the shorthand equivalent of “assaulted.”