October 30, 1997
James P. Hoffa
October 30, 1997
Page 1
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Ron Carey, General President
Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Randy Cammack, Sec.-Treas.
Teamsters Local Union 63
845 Oak Park Road
Covina, CA 91724
David L. Neigus, Deputy
General Counsel
Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Arthur Hackworth, Esq.
Consolidated Freightways
175 Linfeld Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Susan Davis, Esq.
Cohen, Weiss and Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Bradley T. Raymond, Esq.
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik,
Raymond, Ferrara & Feldman
Suite 200
Farmington Hill, MI 48334
James P. Hoffa
October 30, 1997
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. PR-014-LU63-PNW
Gentlemen:
James P. Hoffa, 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”) against Ron Carey, general president and a candidate
for re-election in the rerun election, and Local Union 63 President Randy Cammack.The protester alleges that Mr. Carey and several IBT International and local union representatives were campaigning for Mr. Carey on the premises of Consolidated Freight, an employer, while on the IBT payroll. The protester alleges that this consitutes a prohibited use of union resources.
According to the IBT, Mr. Carey was in California in connection with union business and was visiting the Consolidated Freight terminal to talk about NAFTA and the National Freight negotiation. His activities at the facility did not constitute campaigning.
The protest was investigated by Regional Coordinator Christine M. Mrak.
James P. Hoffa
October 30, 1997
Page 1
On October 15, 1997, Ron Carey gave a speech at the dock at a Consolidated Freight facility in Mira Loma, California. He had been in California for a meeting of the UPS negotiating committee trying to finalize contractual details and was invited by Randy
Cammack, president of Local Union 63, to talk to the employees at Consolidated Freight. Mr. Carey was accompanied by Mr. Cammack, International Representative J.T. Taylor, Mr. Carey’s bodyguard and business agents from Local Union 63. In his speech he discussed the Fast Track trade bill pending before the United State Congress and NAFTA and he encouraged the members to sign a petition opposing Fast Track. The Consolidated Freight Terminal Manager stated that from his observation, Mr. Carey was at the facility on union business and that he heard Mr. Carey tell members who questioned him about the election that he was not there to campaign. The witnesses presented by the protester concede that they did not hear Mr. Carey nor the other IBT representatives engage in any explicit campaigning, although they assert that the only reason Mr. Carey would have come personally to discuss NAFTA was to advance his profile for campaign-related purposes.
Article XII, Section (b)(4) of the Rules prohibits a member from campaigning for him/herself or for any other candidate during time that is paid for by the union or by any employer. In this case, there is no evidence that Mr. Carey or the other union representatives engaged in campaigning during the assembly of members at the Consolidated Freight facility. Rather, Mr. Carey discussed matters of interest and concern to IBT members and those who had accompanied him there passed out the petitions for members to sign concerning Fast Track. These activities constituted legitimate union business, not campaigning, and thus did not violate the Rules. See Kirkpatrick, P-1118-IBT-CLA (November 25, 1996) (no violation where candidate visited Consolidated Freight dock area to promote IBT Action conference, a legitimate, non-campaign event).
Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one (1) 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
James P. Hoffa
October 30, 1997
Page 1
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the
Election Officer, 444 N. Capitol Street NW, Suite 445, Washington, D.C. 20001, facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Benetta M. Mansfield
Interim Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Christine M. Mrak, Regional Coordinator