June 3, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Ken Mee
June 3, 1996
Page 1
Ken Mee, Vice President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
1452 N. 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Chuck Mack, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 70
70 Hegenberger Road
Oakland, CA 94621
Ken Mee
June 3, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-768-LU287-CSF
Gentlemen:
Ken Mee, a member of Local Union 287 and an International vice president, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). The protester alleges that Local Union 70 shop stewards received mailings from the Hoffa-Mack campaign using addresses obtained from the local union TITAN roster, in violation of the Rules. The protester also alleges that Chuck Mack, secretary-treasurer of Local Union 70, withheld currrent and properly-coded TITAN membership information from the IBT in order to gain an unfair advantage over candidates supporting Mr. Carey, who would not have such current information.
Mr. Mack responds that the membership list used to address the campaign mailing was received from the Hoffa campaign and supplemented with addresses from his personally-maintained files.[1] He contends that no addresses were obtained from the Local Union 70 TITAN roster.
Ken Mee
June 3, 1996
Page 1
Regional Coordinator Bruce Boyens investigated the protest.
Article VIII, Section 3 of the Rules forbids use of membership lists received from the International union except for the purpose of advancing the campaigns of candidates for International union office.
The IBT reports that any difficulties with the provision of TITAN information from Local Union 70 to the IBT occurred several years ago, and that such difficulties have been addressed and resolved. The TITAN information currently being received from Local
Union 70 is accurate and up-to-date.
Article VIII, Section 3 of the Rules allows candidates for International office to use membership lists for “advancing the candidate’s campaign for nomination and/or election . . .” Such use of membership information constitutes action to advance a candidate’s campaign for nomination and does not violate the Rules. The Election Officer has previously ruled that campaign supporters such as Mr. Mack may receive relevant membership information from accredited candidates for International office for use in the delegate election. See Cipriani,
et al., P-420-LU391-SEC, et seq. (March 1, 1996), aff’d 95 - Elec. App. - 123 (KC)
(March 13, 1996). Personally-gathered membership information may be used without violating the Rules. See Chentnik, P-223-LU325-CHI, et al. (December 18, 1995), aff’d
95 - Elec. App. - 52 (KC) (January 10, 1996).
Mr. Mack credibly states that he received the Local Union 70 membership information from the Hoffa camapign, which he has supplemented with his own personal lists. The protester has not provided, nor has the investigation disclosed, any information to the contrary. There is no evidence of any misuse of any local union membership infomation originating from the TITAN system.
Accordingly, this protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Ken Mee
June 3, 1996
Page 1
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 N. Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile
(202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Bruce Boyens, Regional Coordinator
[1]Mr. Mack is an accredited candidate for International vice president aligned with
Mr. Hoffa.