December 4, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
James P. Hoffa
December 4, 1996
Page 1
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Ron Carey Campaign
c/o Nathaniel Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Stand Up for Teamsters Slate
c/o Leroy Ellis, Jr.
10733 S. Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60643
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond,
Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
James P. Hoffa
December 4, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-1311-RCS-EOH
Gentlemen:
A pre‑election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by
James P. Hoffa, a member of Local Union 614 and a candidate for general president. He alleges that representatives of the Ron Carey campaign obtained ex parte access to the ballots at the U.S. Postal Service in Austin, Texas, without an Election Officer representative being present.
The respondent denies any violation of the Rules, as described more completely below.
The protest was investigated by Protest Chief Benetta Mansfield and Regional Coordinator William B. Kane.
The Rules require that the election of International officers be conducted by mail ballot sent to the home of eligible voters. The ballots for IBT members in the United States were printed and inserted into envelopes by a mailhouse in Austin, Texas, for mailing on
November 7.
James P. Hoffa
December 4, 1996
Page 1
At 12:01 a.m. on November 7, the ballots were released to the U.S. Postal Service, which thereupon took custody and control of the ballots and mailed them out. The Election Officer representatives left the facility at that time.
At 8:30 a.m. on November 7, William Beemey, a member of Local Union 657 and a representative of the Carey campaign, appeared at the Austin postal facility and was given a tour of the facility by Lawrence Tisdale, a floor supervisor for the postal service. During the tour, Mr. Beemey says he was shown four areas where ballots were being held prior to mailing. One location was roped off and one was a locked room. The two other locations contained ballots completely wrapped in plastic and sitting on pallets. Mr. Beemey was present at the facility for approximately 20 minutes, and was accompanied the entire time by Mr. Tisdale. He did not observe any irregularities and did not see anyone near the ballots other than postal employees. The investigation included interviews with postal officials in Austin. They confirmed that no one else was on the work floor that day, and that no one other than postal employees touched the ballots.
During the afternoon of November 7, another Carey campaign representative, a
Mr. Claxton, appeared at the Austin postal facility to inspect the ballots. He was not permitted access, but was told by the postal service’s consumer affairs representative that the ballots were no longer observable and had been spread throughout the system. The Carey campaign found this statement troubling because, from their perspective, it seemed to contradict what Mr. Beemey had observed a few hours ago.
On November 8, Attorney Richard Brook wrote to the Election Officer on behalf of the Carey campaign, recounting the experiences of their observers at the Austin postal facility and requesting an investigation to confirm that there had not been any tampering with ballots.
The Election Officer responded by letter dated November 21, 1996, confirming that the postal service took custody of the ballots and the Election Office observers left the facility at 12:01 a.m. on November 7. The Election Officer did not find the experiences of the two Carey observers inconsistent since the actual mailing out of the ballots did not occur until sometime after Mr. Beemey’s 8:30 a.m. observation. She further assured Mr. Brook that she had received no indication of any tampering or pilfering of ballots.
The Hoffa campaign learned of this exchange of correspondence and filed the instant protest.
The Election Officer does not find any evidence that the Rules have been violated. Once the ballots were formally released to the postal service at 12:01 a.m. on November 7, the ballots were within the exclusive custody and control of the postal service, and were no longer subject to observation under the Rules. While there was no reason under the Rules to allow Mr. Beemey access to the postal facility work floor, there is no evidence of any tampering with the ballots or handling by anyone other than postal employees.
James P. Hoffa
December 4, 1996
Page 1
The Election Officer finds that there has been no conduct which would constitute improper activity in connection with the mailing of the ballots from Austin. For this reason, 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
William B. Kane, Regional Coordinator