OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: PATRICIA WARREN, ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 162
) Issued: October 20, 2021
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-187-101421-FW
____________________________________)
Patricia Warren, member of Local Union 174, 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 partisan campaign material was posted on a bulletin board of Teamsters District Council 2, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Deborah Schaaf investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
District Council 2, a Teamsters affiliate of GCC local unions in 8 western states, maintains a locked, glass-enclosed bulletin board at Rotary Press in Kent WA. The protest alleged that a Teamster Power slate campaign flyer was posted on the bulletin board there.
Investigation showed that the flyer was not tacked to the corkboard under the glass but instead was affixed to the glass on top of the board. The protest stated that the flyer was posted on October 14, 2021. It was removed on October 15, 2021. Investigation did not reveal who posted the flyer.
Under the Rules, a union is prohibited from making a contribution to a candidate, including an endorsement of candidacy. Article VII, Section 12(c); Article XI, Section 1(b)(3). Posting of campaign material to a union board beneath locked glass violates the Rules as impermissible union support for a candidate because the flyer’s placement constitutes presumptive proof that it was posted by a union official, whether business agent or steward, as a statement of union endorsement.
However, a similar presumption does not attach to a campaign flyer affixed to the locked glass covering a union board. Indeed, the fact that the flyer was posted to the glass rather than beneath it is evidence it was posted by a rank-and-file member as a statement of personal support rather than by a union official as a statement of organizational support. It remains a violation of the Rules, but it does not approach the severity of a campaign posting beneath the glass of a locked board.
On this basis, we deem the protest RESOLVED, given the prompt removal of the flyer from the glass. Nonetheless, we order Teamsters District Council 2 to transmit the following message to its business agents and stewards by email or text message no later than Friday, October 22, 2021:
The Election Supervisor for the election of IBT International officers has ruled that posting of campaign stickers, signs, placards, and flyers to union bulletin boards (including the glass covering them) or to employer property and equipment violates the Election Rules.
By order of the Election Supervisor, you are directed to remove and dispose of any campaign sticker, sign, placard, or flyer you see affixed to any union bulletin board (including glass), and any employer door, wall, window, fence, post, truck, hi-lo, or other building fixture or equipment.
This order remains in effect through November 15, 2021.
We order the principal officer of Teamsters District Council 2 to submit a written declaration to OES no later than Friday, October 22, 2021 that he has complied with this order, together with a copy of the communication sent to business agents and stewards.
A remedial order of the Election Supervisor is immediately effective, unless stayed. Lopez, 96 EAM 73 (February 13, 1996).
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 162
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
Fred Zuckerman
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
ken@tdu.org
Scott Jenkins
scott@oz2021.com
Patricia Warren
Pwt174@comcast.net
Clark Ritchey
espy@teamstersdc2.org
Deborah Schaaf
dschaaf@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com