Eligibility of Walser 2026 ESD 52
OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
) Protest Decision: 2026 ESD 52
IN RE: ELIGIBILITY OF )
KRISTOPHER WALSER ) Issued: March 2, 2026
)
) OES Case E-091-022326
)
INTRODUCTION
In this protest Rick Armstrong – President of Local 391 – challenges the eligibility of Kristopher Walser to run for delegate from Local 391. Mr. Armstrong argues that Mr. Walser did not pay his dues in a timely manner for 24 consecutive months prior to the month of Local 391’s nomination meeting. See Art. VI, § 1(a). Despite the protest being untimely, we find that Mr. Walser is ineligible to run for delegate due to unpaid dues.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, February 14, 2026, Local 391 held its nomination meeting, where Mr. Walser was nominated to run for delegate. In the 24 months preceding the Local 391 nomination meeting Mr. Walser failed to timely pay union dues on many occasions. He told investigator Ronald Webne that he did not work from August 16, 2024, when he was injured, until to April 28, 2025. Mr Webne asked Mr. Walser, who was on dues’ checkoff with his employer, UPS, for paystubs for the months in which his dues were paid late. Those included September and October 2024 and February, March, and April 2025. Mr. Walser said he had no paystubs for September 2024, October 2024, February 2025, March 2025, or April 2025.
During those months, Mr. Walser’s dues were not automatically deducted from his wages, and he did not pay his dues. When he returned to work, his employer deducted double dues until December 2025, when he paid back those unpaid dues.
On February 21, 2026, Mr. Armstrong filed this protest, arguing that Mr. Walser’s unpaid fees rendered him ineligible to run for delegate.
ANALYSIS
a. Timeliness of the Protest
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. Walser had unpaid dues, as President of Local 391, Mr. Armstrong either knew or should have known that Mr. Walser had unpaid dues when he announced his intention run for delegate from Local 391 on February 14, 2026. 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.[1] 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.
There is an exception: “It is well-settled that a member on dues check-off retains his good standing even if his dues were remitted late or not at all by the employer, provided he had signed a check-off authorization and had sufficient earnings or paid leave in the month from which dues could have been deducted.” In re Eligibility of Jakwan Rivers, 2015 ESD 32 (Sept. 21m 2015) (citing IBT Constitution, Article X, Section 5(c)) and (collecting cases). The local “shall notify the member of the employer’s failure” to make deductions from the member’s earnings to pay his dues. IBT Constitution, Article X, Section 5(c).
The nomination meeting for Local 391 took place on February 14, 2026. Mr. Walser was therefore required to pay his dues on time from February 2024 through January 2026.
From September to October 2024, and February to April 2025, Mr. Walser had no earnings from which his employer could have deducted and remitted his dues, and no dues were deducted. Since he did not otherwise pay his dues directly to the local by the last business day of the month each of those months, he was not in good standing any of those months and cannot meet the 24 month dues’ payment requirement of the Rules.[2] He is consequently ineligible to run for delegate.
CONCLUSION
We conclude that because Mr. Walser 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.
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 52
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE):
Rick Armstrong
Kristoffer Walser
Richard Hooker
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
David Suetholz
Will Bloom
Ken Paff
Thomas Kokalas
Timothy S. Hillman
Paul Dever
Ron Webne
Sam Martin
Dolores Hall
Kelly Hogan
[1] We proceed to the merits without waiving any rights.
[2] When he returned to work, his employer deducted double dues until December 2025, when he paid back those unpaid dues. But those late payments to not reestablish good standing for election purposes.