June 8, 1998
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Ken Mee
June 8, 1998
Page 1
Ken Mee
42356 Greenbrier Park Drive
Fremont, CA 94538
Jon Rabine, President
Teamsters Joint Council 28
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Bradley T. Raymond, Esq.
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik,
Raymond, Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway
Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Ken Mee
June 8, 1998
Page 1
Re: Election Officer Case No. PR-110-JC28-EOH
Gentlemen:
Ken Mee, a member of Local Union 287 and a candidate for 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”) against Joint Council 28 and Joint Council 28 President Jon Rabine. Mr. Rabine is also a candidate for International vice-president. Mr. Mee alleges that the February-April 1998 issue of The Washington Teamster, a regular publication of Joint Council 28, contains campaign material in violation of the Rules. Joint Council 28 responds that the publication contains newsworthy information of interest to the members and does not contain any campaign material.
The protest was investigated by Election Office Staff Attorney Peter F. Gimbrère.
The edition of The Washington Teamster at issue is the first one published since the Election Officer’s decision in In re Carey Slate, PR-035-EOH (April 27, 1998), aff’d, 98 - Elec. App. - 348 (KC) (May 15, 1998), which found several Rules violations but did not disqualify James P. Hoffa from running for IBT general president in the rerun election. The publication contains two articles which relate to the International officer election. Combined, these two articles take up approximately one page of the 16-page edition.
Ken Mee
June 8, 1998
Page 1
The first article is entitled “Hoffa Cleared to Run by Federal Watchdog; Carey Administration Lobbyist Indicted.” The article begins on the front page of the publication and continues on the sixth page. As the title suggests, the majority of the article is about the Election Officer’s decision in In re Carey Slate. The remainder of the article covers the following issues: the New York federal grand jury’s indictment of Bill Hamilton in connection with financial contributions to the Carey Campaign, the ongoing Congressional investigation of the 1996 Teamsters election, and Ken Hall’s announcement of his candidacy for general president in the rerun election. The article contains direct references to many of the facts found by the Election Officer in In re Carey Slate and quotes extensively from that decision. One sentence in the publication quotes a statement made by Mr. Hoffa after the decision was rendered. The article contains a 2½ inch photograph of Mr. Hoffa, with the following caption: “James Hoffa addresses press conference following announcement of the Election Officer’s decision.”
The second article is on the sixth page of the publication and is entitled “Feds Tagged for Election Cost; No Schedule Set for Rerun.” The article generally describes the following: the March 30, 1998 Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision ordering the federal government to pay for the costs of the rerun election, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York decision on March 24 rejecting the Election Officer’s proposed timetable for the rerun election and allowing candidates from the 1996 election to change their slate affiliations for the rerun election.
Article VIII, Section 8(a) of the Rules states that a union-financed publication or communication may not be “used to support or attack any candidate or the candidacy of any person.” In reviewing union-financed communications for improper campaign content, the Election Officer looks to the tone, content and timing of the publication. Martin, P-010-IBT-PNJ (August 17, 1995), aff’d, 95 - Elec. App.- 18 (KC) (October 2, 1995). The Election Officer also considers the context in which the communications appeared.
In Martin, the Election Officer recognized that union officers and officials have a “right and responsibility to exercise the powers of their office to advise and report to the membership on issues of general concern.” (Quoting Camarata v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 478 F. Supp. 321, 330 (D.D.C. 1979), aff’d, 108 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2924 (D.C. Cir. 1981)). The Election Officer also noted, however, that despite references to the election process, “[r]eports on the results of protest decisions are legitimate subjects for union-financed publications.” See Blake,
P-245-JC42-CLA (December 18, 1996), aff'd 96 - Elec. App. - 54 (KC) (January 12, 1996).
The Election Officer has previously determined that union resources may be used to report on certain decisions regarding the rerun election due to the fact that they clearly affect “the IBT’s institutional interests and [are] therefore clearly newsworthy and of interest to its members.” Atha, PR-001-IBT-EOH (October 10, 1997), Moriarity, PR-024-JC28-EOH (November 6, 1997), Mee, PR-036-JC28-EOH (December 10, 1997). The Election Officer’s decision to allow Mr. Hoffa to participate in the rerun election is newsworthy and of interest to the members.
Ken Mee
June 8, 1998
Page 1
Pictures of candidates are permitted in union-financed publications when reasonably related to the matter reported, so long as the matter is of legitimate interest to the membership. See Hoffa, P-202-IBT-EOH (November 17, 1995), aff’d, 95 - Elec. App. - 39 (KC) (November 30, 1995); Lamy, P-258-IBT-EOH (December 18, 1995), aff’d, 96 - Elec. App. - 53 (KC) (January 11, 1996). The photograph of Mr. Hoffa in The Washington Teamster does not violate the Rules as it directly relates to a matter of legitimate interest to the membership.
The articles at issue are focused on the Election Officer’s decision regarding Mr. Hoffa’s participation in the rerun the election and not on his campaign. The articles take up only one page of a 16-page publication. The February-April edition of The Washington Teamster is the first edition published since the decision in In re Carey Slate. Therefore, the protested articles constitute a timely report of issues of interest to IBT members and do not constitute impermissible campaigning.
Accordingly, 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, 444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 445, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Cherkasky
Election Officer
MGC:chh
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master