O’Brien et al., 2025 ESD 5
OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: SEAN O’BRIEN & ) Protest Decision 2025 ESD 5
FRED ZUCKERMAN )
) Issued: Sept. 25, 2025
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-009-090925-SO
James Donovan Jr., on behalf of Sean O’Brien, Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters United 2026 slate for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 2026 International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Election”), filed a protest against Richard Hooker and the 2026 Fearless slate pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the Election (“Rules”). The protest alleges that on September 4th and 5th, Grady Tatum, a member of Local 577, was circulating petitions for Hooker and the 2026 Fearless slate at Local 767-UPS facilities in Texas despite the fact that he is not eligible to circulate petitions because he is on withdrawal status in violation of Article X, Section 2(a).
The Office of the Election Supervisor’s Felicia Hardesty investigated this protest. The investigation included interviews of Tatum, Mary Lisa Dominguez, an administrative assistant and TITAN operator for Local 577, Al Brito, president of Local 577, and Hooker as well as a review of all materials submitted by interested parties and persons interviewed in connection to this protest and the OES’s independent investigation.
BACKGROUND
As of the end of June 2025, the president of Local 577, Al Brito, eliminated Tatum’s position as Business Agent at the Tyson facility. In July 2025, Tatum visited Local 577 and met with Mary Lisa Dominguez, an administrative assistant and TITAN operator, to discuss his status and employment search. Dominguez stated that Tatum requested a withdrawal card at this time. Tatum denies that he requested a withdrawal card. No one except Dominguez and Tatum were present during this conversation.
During the executive board meeting on August 10, 2025, Brito “recommend[ed] that [Local 577] sell one vacation day per week so [Tatum] has time to do his retirement and have insurance while he changes insurance to his retirement insurance” because of Tatum’s health issues. The Executive Board agreed to sell Tatum’s unused vacation days to him, allowing him to extend his Teamster’s medical insurance.
Although the withdrawal card is dated August 25, 2025, Dominguez stated that she filled out the card on August 28, 2025. Dominguez did not send Tatum the withdrawal card. TITAN records show that Tatum paid his dues through August and that he was placed on withdrawal status August 28, 2025.
On September 4th and 5th, 2025, Tatum met with Hooker and circulated petitions for the Fearless 2026 at the Local 767 UPS facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
On the morning of September 9th, 2025, Tatum called Dominguez asking for help with forms needed for employment applications he is filing. He also told Dominguez he would be sending a check for his dues in September. During this conversation Tatum learned for the first time that she had placed him on withdrawal status. Tatum also stated that he first learned of this protest on the afternoon of September 9, 2025, when the OES investigator contacted him. Tatum denies requesting a withdrawal card and denies any knowledge of one prior to the morning of September 9th, 2025. He stated that he is currently seeking employment and intends to pay his dues in September.
Brito stated that he has not had any contact with Tatum since eliminating his position and was not aware of Tatum’s withdrawal card until his interview with the OES investigator on the afternoon of September 9th, 2025. Since Tatum’s position was eliminated, Brito has written positive referrals for Tatum to prospective employers.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
A “member in good standing” is defined as “a member who has paid his/her dues through the month prior to the month in question.” Definitions, 34.
The issuance of withdrawal cards is governed by Article XVIII, Section 6 of the IBT Constitution. Article XVIII Section 6(a) states:
Local Unions shall have jurisdiction over the granting and acceptance of all honorable withdrawal cards and shall establish rules in their Bylaws not inconsistent with this Constitution to govern the issuance and acceptance of withdrawal cards with respect to members working within the various crafts and industries under their jurisdiction.
When a member becomes unemployed in the jurisdiction of the Local Union, he or she shall be issued an honorable withdrawal card upon request. If no request is made, an honorable withdrawal card must be issued six (6) months after the month in which the member first becomes unemployed, if the member is still unemployed at that time. A member is not considered to be unemployed if the member is on sick leave, Family Medical Leave, or worker’s compensation and retains reemployment rights with an employer party to a collective bargaining agreement.”
Pursuant to Local 577’s website,
Members who will be off work from their Teamsters Local 577 represented job for over four (4) weeks due to illness, vacation, a leave of absence, resignation/termination, etc. are not required to pay dues during that time and will need to request a withdrawal card. Failure to do so could result in the billing of back dues and reinitiation fees.
(emphasis added); see also Local 577 Bylaws, Article VI.
Withdrawal status excuses a member’s obligation to pay dues and interrupts continuous good standing, “[p]rovided, however, that if a member on withdrawal deposits his card in the month immediately following the month for which it was effective and pays his dues for both months in a timely manner as provided in Article X, Section 5(c), such period of withdrawal shall not be considered a break in continuous good standing in the Local Union.” IBT constitution, Article II, Section 4(a)(1); see also In re Eligibility of Sikora, 2016 ESD 75 (Jan. 17, 2016).
Tatum unequivocally denies requesting a withdrawal card. Despite Dominguez’s recollection that Tatum requested a withdrawal card in July, the evidence shows that Dominguez did not write the card until August 28, 2025 (after the Executive Board meeting), did not inform Brito of the purported withdrawal card request, and it does not appear that she issued a copy of the withdrawal card to Tatum. Moreover, Tatum paid his dues for July and August, stated his intent to pay his dues in September,[1] and is actively seeking employment, which was confirmed by Brito. Based on the evidence before us, we do not find that Tatum requested a withdrawal card. We do not find that Dominguez lied to the investigator but, we find that there was likely a misunderstanding by Dominguez during her conversation with Tatum in July and/or due to conflicting statements within Local 577 related to Tatum’s health and potential retirement, despite Tatum’s stated intent and efforts to seek employment. The IBT Constitution and Local 577 require that a withdrawal card be requested prior to issuance if less than six months has passed since the member’s unemployment. Tatum became unemployed in June. Moreover, he has taken steps to gain employment since that time. Absent a request for a withdrawal card by Tatum, to the extent one was issued, it was done prematurely and improperly without Tatum’s knowledge. See IBT Constitution, Article XVIII, Section 6(a); See also Local 577’s Bylaws Art. VI; Local 577’s website. As such, Tatum was a member in good standing in September and was permitted to circulate petitions.
Accordingly, we DENY this protest.
APPELLATE RIGHTS
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within two (2) working days of receipt of this decision. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Election Appeals Master
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Timothy S. Hillman
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones, IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.com
2025 ESD 5
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE):
James Donovan Jr.
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
David Suetholz
Will Bloom
Ken Paff
Thomas Kokalas
Timothy S. Hillman
Paul Dever
Felicia Hardesty
Dolores Hall
Kelly Hogan