2026 EAM 25 (re: 2026 ESD 124)
ELECTION APPEALS MASTER
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
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IN RE: JARED FRANKIAN
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Protestors. |
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2026 EAM 25
ISSUED: November 2, 2026
APPEAL OF ELECTION SUPERVISOR PROTEST 2026 ESD 124
OES CASE No. P-161-081026
Protest Decision 2026 ESD 124 (“ESD 124”) was issued on September 9, 2026 (OES Case Nos. P-161-081-081026) by the Office of the Election Supervisor (“Election Supervisor” or “OES”). ESD 124 addresses a protest filed by Jared Frankian, a candidate in Local 431’s delegate election, alleging that Local 431 officers violated the Rules for the 2025–2026 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (the “Rules”) by failing to timely comply with the remedy ordered in a separate matter, 2026 ESD 117 (“ESD 117”). That remedy required Local 431 President Justin Scott to post remedial notices at all union and employer sites. The Election Supervisor found that the failure to post notices at certain sites was not intentional and deemed the protest RESOLVED.
On September 11, 2026, Mr. Frankian appealed the decision asserting that Mr. Scott’s failure to post the required notices was intentional. By Notice of Hearing, the Election Appeals Master scheduled a hearing for September 17, 2026. Prior to the hearing, both the OES filed a pre-hearing submission in support of its position. A hearing by video conference was held on September 17, 2026. The following individuals attended the hearing: Kelly Hogan and Deborah Schaaf, on behalf of the OES; Robert Bonsall, counsel for Local 431; Gilbert Prieto, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 431; Jared Frankian on behalf of the Solidarity Slate; and James Donovan, on behalf of the OZ Slate.
Determination
In ESD 117, the Election Supervisor determined that Local 431 President Justin Scott and other members of the local’s executive board had improperly terminated shop stewards for exercising their protected political rights. As a result of the violation, the OES issued the following remedy:
We order Scott, as President of Local 431, to immediately reinstate Mejia, Garlick, and White to their former positions as shop stewards. We also order Scott and any other member of the Local 431 Executive Board to cease and desist from further retaliation in violation of the Rules.
We order Local 431 to immediately post the notice (attached hereto as Exhibit 2), in both English and in Spanish, on all employer bulletin boards, as well as bulletin boards at Local 431 offices, and on the homepage of Local 431’s website for a period of 30 days, beginning no later than August 5, 2026.
Affidavits attesting to the completion of that posting, and identifying each posting location, shall be filed by Local 431 and/or Scott with the Office of the Election Supervisor, by August 7, 2026.
ESD 117 at 8-9; 12.
The protest in ESD 124 alleged that Local 431’s officers had failed to comply with the requirements described above. OES’s investigation confirmed that the affected members had not been reinstated and that Local 431 had not posted the required notices by the specified deadlines. Mr. Scott explained that he believed Mr. Frankian’s appeal of ESD 117 relieved him of his obligation to comply. Once informed that compliance was nevertheless required, he immediately began taking steps to comply. He also agreed to keep the notices posted through September 30, 2026, extending the posting period beyond the original requirement. Although Mr. Scott’s compliance was imperfect, OES determined that his failure to meet the deadlines was not intentional and that he cooperated with OES to achieve compliance. OES therefore deemed the protest RESOLVED. Based on the record before me, I find no basis to disturb OES’s determination. Accordingly, the appeal is denied.
SO ORDERED:
Hon. Barbara S. Jones (Ret.)
Election Appeals Master
DATED: November 2, 2026
DISTRIBUTION LIST (VIA EMAIL):
Jared Frankian
JJfrankian@yahoo.com
Justin Scott
justin@teamster431.org
Gilbert Prieto
gilbert@teamster431.org
Robert Bonsall
rbonsall@beesontayer.com
Richard Hooker
hookabrasi@gmail.com
John Palmer
jpalmer8734@gmail.com
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
ed@hsglawgroup.com
James L. Donovan Jr.
jdonovan.ne@gmail.com
David Suetholz
DSuetholz@teamster.org
Will Bloom
wbloom@dsgchicago.com
Ken Paff
ken@tdu.org
Timothy S. Hillman
thillman@ibtvote.org
Paul Dever
pdever@ibtvote.org
Deborah Schaaf
Deschaaf33@gmail.com
Kelly Hogan
kelly.hogan@nelsonmullins.com