2026 EAM 22 (re: 2026 ESD 84)

ELECTION APPEALS MASTER

FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS

2026 EAM 22
ISSUED: June 29, 2026
APPEAL OF ELECTION SUPERVISOR PROTEST 2026 ESD 84
OES CASE No. P-130-032426

Protest Decision 2026 ESD 84 (“ESD 84”) was issued on May 20, 2026 (OES Case No. P-130-032426) by the Office of the Election Supervisor (“Election Supervisor” or “OES”).  ESD 84 addresses a protest filed by Erin Breen, an independent candidate for delegate in Local Union 455’s (“Local 455”) delegate election.  Mr. Breen alleged that Dean Modecker, Local 455 Secretary-Treasurer and spokesperson for the Leaner, Meaner, Greener (“LMG”) slate, LMG slate candidates Herb Whitaker and Alan Frisbee, and the LMG slate violated the Rules for the 2025–2026 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (the “Rules”) by using the LMG logo and motto on official Local 455 social media posts during the election period.

The Election Supervisor denied the protest as untimely but, finding a violation of the Rules, simultaneously issued a cease-and-desist order.  On May 20, 2026, Mr. Breen appealed the decision on timeliness grounds and submitted a written argument in support of his position.  On June 1, 2026, the OES submitted a written response in support of its position.  Counsel for the Local Union 455 (“Local 455”) also submitted a written argument in connection with the appeal on June 1, 2026.

A hearing by video conference was held on June 2, 2026.  The following individuals attended the hearing:  Jim Devine and Ellyn Lazar on behalf of the OES; Erin Breen; Herb Whitaker, Dean Modecker, and Alan Frisbee on behalf of Local 455; and George Faulkner as counsel for Local 455.

For the reasons set forth below, the appeal is GRANTED and the remedy is MODIFIED in part, as described herein.

Background

Local 455 held a delegate election to select representatives to the 2026 IBT International Convention.  Mr. Modecker, Local 455’s Secretary-Treasurer, served as spokesperson for the LMG Slate, which is composed of the local’s incumbent officers.

Upon taking office in 2023, Mr. Modecker and his fellow officers adopted “Leaner, Meaner, Greener” – or “LMG” – as Local 455's motto.  Since then, the LMG logo and motto have appeared consistently on Local 455 materials, including clothing, event flyers, and posts across the local’s social media platforms.  The rebranding was widely known within the local.  When the delegate election commenced, the incumbent officers again chose “Leaner, Meaner, Greener” as their slate name, announcing it at the nomination meeting on January 13, 2026.

On March 20, 2026, Mr. Breen saw a flyer bearing the LMG logo on a WhatsApp work account.  He subsequently discovered that Local 455’s public Facebook page contained numerous posts featuring the LMG logo, motto, or related hashtags (e.g., #LMG and #leanermeanergreener).

On March 24, 2026, Mr. Breen filed his protest, alleging that the LMG slate had improperly used Local 455’s social media accounts – a union resource – to promote its candidacy in violation of the Rules.

The election was held on March 31, 2026.  The LMG slate won all delegate and alternate delegate positions by a wide margin.

The OES initially denied the protest on timeliness grounds.  Specifically, the OES found that Mr. Breen knew or reasonably should have known by January 13, 2026 – the date of the nomination meeting – that the LMG slate had adopted the LMG name and logo for the delegate election.  Because Mr. Breen did not file his protest until March 24, 2026 – more than two months later and well beyond the two-day filing deadline prescribed by the Rules – the OES deemed the protest untimely.

Nevertheless, the OES also addressed the merits of the protest and found that the LMG slate had violated the Rules by adopting as its slate name a logo and motto that, through years of consistent use, had become distinctly identified with Local 455 as an institution, thereby appropriating a “thing of value” from the union.  The OES accordingly issued a cease-and-desist order prohibiting the LMG Slate from using the “Leaner, Meaner, Greener” name or LMG logo in any future election or on campaign materials for so long as Local 455 continues to use the logo or motto.

Determination

I disagree with the Election Supervisor’s determination that Mr. Breen’s protest was untimely.  The OES concluded that Mr. Breen knew or reasonably should have known of the LMG motto’s adoption as a slate name no later than the January 13, 2026 nomination meeting.  The timeliness provision in Article XIII, Section 2(b) runs from when the protestor “becomes aware or reasonably should have become aware of the action protested.”  The action protested here was not the mere adoption of a slate name at a single meeting but was the LMG slate’s ongoing use of the LMG logo and motto on Local 455’s official social media throughout the election period.  That use continued throughout the election period, up to the point at which the OES issued its order directing the conduct to cease.  Based on these circumstance, I therefore conclude that the protest was timely.

I do, however, agree with the Election Supervisor’s determination that the LMG slate violated the Rules.  Article VII, Section 8 prohibits the use of union resources to support or attack any candidate or candidacy.  The LMG logo and motto had, through three years of consistent use, become distinctly identified with Local 455 as an institution.  By adopting that motto and logo as a slate identity, the LMG slate appropriated a “thing of value” from the union in violation of the Rules.

To remedy the violation, the Election Supervisor exercised its authority under Article XIII, Section 4 to order the LMG slate to cease and desist from using the “Leaner, Meaner, Greener” name or LMG logo “in any future elections or on any campaign materials” for so long as Local 455 continues to use the logo.  That remedy fell within the Election Supervisor’s broad discretion, insofar as it applied to the use of the LMG name or logo in the IBT International election process.  See Hailstone & Martinez, 2010 EAM 7 (September 14, 2010) (“The Election Supervisor’s discretion in fashioning an appropriate remedy is broad and is entitled to deference.”).

The Election Supervisor’s jurisdiction, however, is limited to the IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election; it does not extend to local union elections.  Accordingly, I modify the remedy imposed in ESD 84 to order the members of the LMG slate and all members of Local 455 to cease and desist from any further use of the “Leaner, Meaner, Greener” slate name or the LMG logo in any future elections of delegates to the IBT International Convention or of IBT International Officers, and any nominations of candidates for IBT International Office, for so long as that name and/or logo is used by Local 455.

For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is GRANTED and the remedy imposed in ESD 84 is MODIFIED in part as set forth herein.

SO ORDERED

Hon. Barbara S. Jones (Ret.)

Election Appeals Master

DATED: July 29, 2026

DISTRIBUTION LIST (VIA EMAIL):

Erin Breen

Erinbreen6@gmail.com

Dean Modecker

dmodecker@teamsterslocal455.org

Herb Whitaker

hwhitaker@teamsterslocal455.org

Alan Frisbee

afrisbee@teamsterslocal455.org

David Suetholz, General Counsel

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

DSuetholz@teamster.org

Edward M. Gleason, Jr.

ed@hsglawgroup.com

James L. Donovan Jr.

jdonovan.ne@gmail.com

Richard Hooker

hookabrasi@gmail.com

John Palmer

Jpalmer8734@gmail.com

Will Bloom

wbloom@dsgchicago.com

Ken Paff

ken@tdu.org

Ellyn Lazar

ellynlaz@gmail.com

Jim Devine

jim.devine@gmail.com

Hon. Timothy S. Hillman

thillman@ibtvote.org

Kelly Hogan

kelly.hogan@nelsonmullins.com

Paul Dever

pdever@ibtvote.org

Deborah Schaaf

dschaaf@ibtvote.org; Debschaaf33@gmail.com

Thomas Kokalas

thomas.kokalas@bracewell.com