Eligibility of Atkins, 2026 ESD 51
OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
) Protest Decision: 2026 ESD 51
IN RE: ELIGIBILITY OF )
DONOVAN ATKINS ) Issued: March 2, 2026
)
) OES Case No. E-086-022126
)
INTRODUCTION
In this protest, Rick Armstrong – President of Local 391 – challenges the eligibility of Donovan Atkins to run for delegate from Local 391. Mr. Armstrong argues that Mr. Atkins has unpaid union dues that render him ineligible to be a candidate. See Art. VI, § 1(a). Despite the protest being untimely, we find that Mr. Atkins is ineligible to run for delegate due to unpaid dues.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, February 14, 2026, Local 391 held its nomination meeting, where Mr. Atkins announced his intention to run for delegate. In the years before seeking candidacy, Mr. Atkins failed to timely pay union dues for several months. Specifically, Mr. Atkins paid his December 2024 and January 2025 dues on February 14, 2025, and he paid his February 2025 dues on March 17, 2025.
For some of those dues, Mr. Atkins’ employer did not deduct the dues from his earnings. For instance, Mr. Atkins worked in January and February 2025, earning enough to pay his dues those months, but his employer did not deduct dues from his wages. For his December 2024 dues, however, Mr. Atkins did not earn enough to pay his dues. During that time, he was on medical leave, which began on November 21, 2024. While on medical leave, Mr. Atkins says he filled out a “Dues Waiver” form and sent the form to Local 391. When a member fills out such a form, Local 391 pays that member’s dues for up to six months. See Loc. 391 Bylaws, Art. 28, § 2.
According to Mr. Armstrong, Local 391 never received that Dues Waiver form. The investigator assigned to this case – Ronald L. Webne – spoke Local 391’s TITAN operator, Suzie Edwards, who also explained that Local 391 never received the form. According to Ms. Edwards, if Local 391 had received the form, they would have paid Mr. Atkins’s dues for the months he was on medical leave. But Local 391 never paid those dues. And when Mr. Atkins returned to work, TITAN records show that double dues were deducted on February 14, March 17, and April 22, 2024, to resolve Mr. Atkins’s unpaid dues.
On February 21, 2026, Mr. Armstrong filed this protest, arguing that Mr. Atkins’s unpaid fees rendered him ineligible to run for delegate.
ANALYSIS
a. Timeliness
Under Article XIII, Section 2, all protests regarding the eligibility of a candidate “must be filed within two (2) working days of the day when the protestor becomes aware or reasonable should have become aware of the action protested or such protests shall be waived.” Assuming Mr. Atkins had unpaid dues, as President of Local 391, Mr. Armstrong either knew or should have known that Mr. Atkins had unpaid dues when he announced his intention run for delegate from Local 391. And so, Because Mr. Armstrong filed his protest more than two working days after he knew or should have known the basis for that protest, the protest is untimely. Still, we will proceed to the merits.
b. Merits
Despite the untimeliness of the protest, we will proceed to the merits. Under Article VI, Section 1 (a) of the Rules, to be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate, or International Officer position, a candidate must:
- Be a member in continuous good standing of the Local Union, with one’s dues paid to the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination for said position with no interruptions in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments;
- Be employed at the craft within the jurisdiction of the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination; and
- Be eligible to hold office if elected.
Art. VI, § 1(a). And under the IBT Constitution, “members paying dues to Local Unions must pay them on or before the last business day of the current month.” IBT Const. Art. X, § 5(c). Members that fail to pay dues on or before the last business day of the month “shall not be in good standing for such month.” Id. And while paying delinquent dues restores good standing for some purposes, “[p]ayment of such dues after their due date shall not restore good standing status for such month or months in computing the continuous good standing status required . . . as a condition of eligibility for office.” Id. Thus, to remain in good standing for the purpose of seeking candidacy, members must have paid dues continuously for the preceding 24 months, paying each month on or before the last business day of that month.
As is often the case, however, there are exceptions. For instance, when a member is “on dues checkoff” and the “employer fails to make a proper deduction during any month in which the member has earnings from work performed during the month from which the dues could have been deducted . . . shall not lose good standing status for that month.” Id. In those circumstances, “the Local Union shall notify the member of the employer’s failure and payment shall be made by the member within thirty (30) days of said notice in order to retain good standing.” Id. Local 391 provides members with another exception. Under its bylaws, Local 391 will pay dues for members in good standing that take sick leave for up to six months. See Loc. 391 Bylaws, Art. 28, § 2. To obtain that benefit, members must complete a “Dues Waiver” form and return it to the Local. Id.
It appears that Mr. Atkins was “on dues checkoff” because Mr. Atkins’s dues were sometimes automatically deducted from his wages (for instance, when he returned from medical leave). Mr. Atkins provided investigator Webne paystubs, showing that his wages during January 2025 and February 2025 sufficed to pay his dues for those months. Thus, because his employer seems to have failed to deduct dues, we find that Mr. Atkins remained in good standing those January and February 2025. See IBT Const. Art. X, § 5(c).
Not so, however, for December 2024. While on medical leave, Mr. Atkins says he filled out a “Dues Waiver” form and sent the form to Local 391. If he had, that would have required Local 391 to pay Mr. Atkins dues during his sick leave and ensured he remained in good standing. According to Mr. Armstrong, however, Local 391 never received that Dues Waiver form. As explained above, Ms. Edwards, Local 391’s TITAN operator, explained that Local 391 never received the form. According to Ms. Edwards, if Local 391 had received the form, they would have paid Mr. Atkins’s dues for the months he was on medical leave. But Local 391 never paid those dues. And when Mr. Atkins returned to work, TITAN records show that double dues were deducted on February 14, March 17, and April 22, 2025, to resolve Mr. Atkins’s unpaid dues.
Given that circumstantial evidence and the fact that Ms. Edwards has no skin in this game, it seems most likely that Mr. Atkins never returned a Dues Waiver form. Thus, because Mr. Atkins did not remain in good standing during his medical leave, he is ineligible to run for delegate as that period was within 24 months of his candidacy.
We conclude that because Mr. Atkins did not pay his dues and remain in good standing for 24 consecutive months preceding his candidacy, he is ineligible to run for delegate under Article VI, Section 1 (a) of the Rules.
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
2026 ESD 51
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE):
Rick Armstrong
Donovan Atkins
Wayne Gibbs
Richard Hooker
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
David Suetholz
Will Bloom
Ken Paff
Thomas Kokalas
Timothy S. Hillman
Paul Dever
Ron Webne
Deborah Schaaf
Sam Martin
Kelly Hogan