Bentley, 2026 ESD 66
OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: MICHAEL BENTLEY ) Protest Decision: 2026 ESD 66
) Issued: April 15, 2026
Protestor. )
) OES Case No. P-081-021726
)
INTRODUCTION
Michael Bentley filed a pre-election protest against Jody Whitlock alleging that Whitlock distributed campaign materials while on union time and driving a union vehicle in violation of the Rules for the 2025-2026 International Brotherhood of Teamsters International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).
Felicia Hardesty of the Office of the Election Supervisor (“OES”) investigated this protest and interviewed the following individuals on the New Vision 391 slate: Michael Bentley, Leon Rhodes; the following candidates on the Armstrong-Gibbs slate: Jody Whitlock (Business Agent at Local 391), Keith Pope, Rick Armstrong (President of Local 391); and William Smith, Tyler Luckey (Local 391 member)and Janie Shipley, Executive Assistant for Local 391.
BACKGROUND
On February 13, 2026, around 2:00 pm, Whitlock, driving a vehicle purchased by Local 391, visited the ABF terminal in Kernersville, NC to bring a campaign t-shirt to Keith Pope, who works there. Both Whitlock and Pope are candidates on the Armstrong-Gibbs slate in Local 391’s delegate election. Whitlock stated that he went to lunch at a restaurant in Kernersville that day and passed by the ABF terminal afterwards to drop off the t-shirt he gave to Pope for Pope to give another member, Tyler Luckey, after he returned to the ABF terminal from his “city run.”[1] Whitlock states he was on his lunch break when he delivered the t-shirt to Pope who was also on his lunch break when Whitlock dropped off the t-shirt. Pope corroborated this statement and Luckey stated that Pope handed Luckey the t-shirt after he returned from his city run and after he clocked out.
Smith and Rhodes both provided written statements dated February 15, 2026 and February 17, 2026, respectively. Smith stated that he saw Whitlock come to the ABF terminal in Kernersville in his work vehicle around 2:15 pm. He saw Whitlock walk towards the dock carrying what looked like a t-shirt and/or other campaign material, meet with Pope at the corner of the dock, and hand what he believed to be a t-shirt and/or other campaign material to Pope. Rhodes stated that he observed Whitlock bring Pope what appeared to be a t-shirt or other campaign material to the dock while Pope was on the clock and Whitlock was in his work vehicle. Rhodes asked shop steward Luckey where he got his t-shirt; Luckey stated that Pope gave it to him that day when he returned from his city run. Both Rhodes and Smith told the investigator that they could not clearly see what Whitlock handed to Pope but learned the following day at the membership meeting that it was Luckey’s campaign t-shirt.
Shipley, the Executive Assistant for Local 391, stated that Local 391 purchases the same make and model of vehicle for all officers and business agents for business and that they are permitted to use the vehicles for personal use. The investigator confirmed that the ABF terminal in Kernersville is approximately a 12-minute drive from Local 391’s union hall. Armstrong and Shipley (who did not know why the investigator was asking) stated that Whitlock generally takes his lunch break after 1:00 pm. The investigator also confirmed that Whitlock is permitted up to a 1.5 hour lunch break.
Union officials may not campaign on union-paid time. See Teamsters United & Hoffa-Hall 2016, 2015 ESD 22 (August 13, 2015) (local president violated Rules by spending a half hour in parking lot on union-paid time telling employees they need not sign accreditation petitions, where activity was too long in duration to qualify as incidental to work). However, the Rules protect the right of members to engage in campaign activity while on break or lunch time in non-work areas of the employer’s premises. See Rules, Art. VII, Section 12(a) (“campaigning during paid vacation, paid lunch hours or breaks, or similar paid time off is not violative of this section”); Art. XI, Section 1(b)(7) (“campaigning incidental to work or regular Union business or during paid vacation, paid lunch hours or breaks, or similar time off is not violative of the campaign contribution rules”); see DePietro, 2010 ESD 52 (December 8, 2010); Kozubowski, 2010 ESD 61 (December 22, 2010); Martinez, 2011 ESD 134 (February 23, 2011); and Gibbs, 2010 ESD 54 (December 9, 2010). Like other members, union officers and employees are permitted to campaign on break time. Caraballo, P653 (April 3, 1996) (no violation where business agent was on a break, local’s break policy for business agents did not prescribe a set time or duration, and business agent’s time reports for the period in question showed workdays averaging 9.5 hours per day and work on Saturdays and Sundays). While the Rules protect the right to campaign, they generally prohibit campaigning directed to employees who are on work status. Berg & Corrigan, 2001 EAD 267 (March 26, 2001), aff’d, 01 EAM 61 (April 23, 2001).
All witnesses place Whitlock at the ABF facility at, or around, 2pm. Shipley, without knowing why the investigator was asking, stated that Whitlock generally takes lunch after 1:00 pm supporting Whitlock’s statement that he was on his lunch break when he dropped the t-shirt off at the ABF facility. There is no evidence to refute the statements that Whitlock and Pope were on lunch break during the exchange or that Luckey was not off the clock when he was provided the t-shirt[2] and even Smith and Rhodes acknowledge that this exchange was very brief. See Rules, Article XIII, Section 1 (“it shall be the burden of the protestor to present evidence that a violation has occurred”); see also Gonzales, P-152-020716-FW (Dec. 20, 2016) (explaining that because there was no evidence to support the protestor’s allegations besides his own words, and the union representative denied those allegations, Article XIII, Section 1 permitted the finding of no violation). As set forth above, the Rules allow campaigning during lunch breaks.
As to the protestors charge regarding the Union vehicle, Section 12(c) of Article VII states, “Union officers and employees provided with Union-owned or leased cars, if otherwise afforded the right to utilize those cars for personal activities, may use the cars for campaign activities, provided no costs, or expenses incurred as a consequence of such use are paid out of Union funds or other prohibited sources.” Union members are permitted personal use of a union-leased vehicle when the car is not required for union business, such as on a break. See P-1277-LU294-PGH (Nov. 26, 1996) (holding that the Rules permit the candidate to display a campaign sign on his union-leased vehicle); P-10410LU194-PNJ (Oct. 28, 1996)(holding that because the candidate was permitted to use the union-leased car for personal use, campaigning with the car was not a violation of the Rules).
Here, Whitlock was permitted to use the car for personal reasons, and did so to campaign, in accordance with the Rules. Additionally, the union hall and the ABF facility are in close proximity. Therefore, Whitlock incurred no significant expense in stopping at the ABF facility on his way back to the union hall.
For all of these reasons, 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
2026 ESD 66
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE):
Michael Bentley
Jody Whitlock
jwhitlock@teamsterslocal391.org
Keith Pope
Richard Hooker
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.,
David Suetholz
Will Bloom,
Ken Paff
Hon. Timothy S. Hillman (Ret.)
Felicia Hardesty
Paul Dever
Thomas Kokalas
Emily Balzano
Emily.balzano@nelsonmullins.com
[1] ABF is a freight company with long haul driving trips and short, “city” trips.
[2] Although Rhodes and Smith both stated that they observe the very brief exchange between Whitlock and Pope, which consisted of an exchange of a t-shirt, neither of them stated that they saw Pope give the shirt to Luckey nor was a protest filed alleging that such conduct was a violation of the Rules.