October 29, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
James P. Hoffa
October 29, 1996
Page 1
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Ron Carey, General President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Ron Carey Campaign
c/o Nathaniel K. Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Lou Smith, President
Teamsters Local Union 810
10 E. 15th Street
New York, NY 10003
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond,
Ferrara & Feldman, P.C.
32300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
John Sullivan, Associate General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
James P. Hoffa
October 29, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-1038-LU810-NYC
Gentlemen:
James P. Hoffa, a member of Local Union 614 and a candidate for general 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”) alleging that on or about September 30, 1996, stickers supporting the campaign of Ron Carey, IBT general president and a candidate for reelection, were affixed to the front door of Local Union 810’s satellite office in Holtsville, New York, in violation of the Rules. He further alleges that “[t]he pattern of improper use of employer and union property by the Carey campaign and in trusteed locals under Mr. Carey’s control and in the New York area is pervasive.”
James P. Hoffa
October 29, 1996
Page 1
Local Union 810 responds that its Holtsville office is used on a part-time basis for approximately one hour per day on three or four days per week. It further states that the office is used on an occasional basis by Business Agents Donna Santoro and Jerry Bartone. According to the local union, Ms. Santoro removed the stickers when she arrived at the office and saw them on September 30 or October 1. She also posted signs at the office stating that campaign material should not be posted on the premises.
This protest was investigated by New York City Protest Coordinator Barbara C. Deinhardt.
The protester’s witness to the events involved in this protest is Joseph Saroli, who is active on the Hoffa campaign. Mr. Saroli states that he was driving through Holtsville on September 30, 1996 when he saw a Carey bumper sticker and a round Carey campaign sticker on the front door of Local Union 810’s satellite office. Mr. Saroli further states that the stickers were on the inside of the door. During the investigation of this protest, the Protest Coordinator asked Mr. Saroli to see if the stickers had been removed. Mr. Saroli returned to the office approximately one week after he originally saw the stickers and reported that they were no longer there.
Local Union 810 admits that two Carey stickers had been affixed to the front door of its Holtsville office. The investigation revealed, however, that they were on the outside of the door, not the inside.[1] Ms. Santoro states that she found the stickers on the door when she returned to the office on September 30 or October 1, after having been ill. She further states that she removed them immediately and posted the signs described above.
The Election Officer addressed the affixing of campaign stickers to the newly painted exterior of a local union hall in Willett, P-863-LU331-PNJ (August 16, 1996). The Election Officer noted that such behavior was vandalism and violated the Rules:
Article VIII, Section 11(a) protects the right of members “to support or oppose any candidate” of their choice. It also protects the right of members not to be involved in union politics if that is their decision. Using the [hall] to display one side's campaign materials interfered with the Section 11(a) rights of all members of that local union who disagreed or wished to remain uninvolved. Using the hall for a campaign display also violated the prohibition in Article VIII, Section 11(c): “Union . . . facilities . . . may not be used to assist in campaigning. . . .”
James P. Hoffa
October 29, 1996
Page 1
As was the case in Willett, there is no evidence as to the identity of the person or persons who put up the stickers at Local Union 810’s satellite office. In that matter and the current one, local union personnel acted promptly and appropriately to remove the material. In the current matter, Ms. Santoro took the further step of posting signs stating that campaign material should not be posted on the premises.
With respect to Mr. Hoffa’s allegation that “[t]he pattern of improper use of employer and union property by the Carey campaign and in trusteed locals under Mr. Carey’s control and in the New York area is pervasive,” the Election Officer finds no evidence on this record of any improper use of local union property except as resulted from vandalism, which the local union corrected promptly.
In the absence of evidence as to the identity of the person or persons who improperly affixed the stickers in question, the 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
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
Barbara C. Deinhardt, New York City Protest Coordinator
[1]The round Carey campaign sticker was superimposed on the center of a flower-shaped “Teamsters are Beautiful” sticker unrelated to the International officer election. That sticker would hide the Carey sticker unless the Carey sticker were on the outside of the door.