2026 EAM 21 (re: ESD 80)
ELECTION APPEALS MASTER
FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
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IN RE: RILEY BUCHEI,
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Protestor. |
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2026 EAM 21
ISSUED: June 12, 2026
APPEAL OF ELECTION SUPERVISOR PROTEST 2026 ESD 80
OES CASE No. P-132-032526
Protest Decision 2026 ESD 80 (“ESD 80”) was issued on May 18, 2026 (OES Case No. P-132-032526) by the Office of the Election Supervisor (“Election Supervisor” or “OES”). ESD 80 addresses a protest filed by Riley Buchei, a member of Local Union 222 (“Local 222”). Mr. Buchei alleged that Spencer Hogue, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 222 and a candidate for delegate on an opposing slate in Local 222’s delegate election, violated Article IX, Section 1(f) of the Rules for the 2025–2026 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (the “Rules”) by refusing to certify, upon Buchei’s written request, that time spent by Buchei and his fellow designated observer observing the delegate election counted as union business. The Election Supervisor denied the protest.
On May 19, 2026, Mr. Buchei appealed the decision. A hearing by video conference was held on May 28, 2026. The following individuals attended the hearing: Kelly Hogan and Jim Devine on behalf of the OES; Riley Buchei; and James Donovan Jr., Treasurer of the O’Brien-Zuckerman Teamsters United 2026 Slate.
For the reasons set forth below, the appeal is DENIED.
Background
Local 222 held a delegate election to select representatives to the 2026 IBT International Convention. Spencer Hogue served as both Secretary-Treasurer of Local 222 and a candidate for delegate in the delegate election. The delegate election was scheduled for March 26, 2026.
On March 22, 2026, Mr. Buchei submitted written notice to Jim Devine of the OES, designating himself and Deven Bugger as observers for the ballot retrieval and count for the Independent Slate in the delegate election. That same day, Mr. Buchei sent a written request to Mr. Hogue for certification that time spent observing would be considered union business.
On March 23, 2026, Mr. Hogue responded by citing Article 16 of the UPS National Master Agreement and informing Mr. Buchei that time spent observing was not official union business. Mr. Hogue directed Mr. Buchei to request time off directly from his employer or to use available entitlements.
On March 25, 2026, Mr. Buchei filed his protest with the OES. Jim Devine, the assigned OES investigator, immediately contacted Mr. Hogue, referred him to Article IX, Section 1(f) of the Rules, and instructed him to comply. Mr. Hogue did so promptly: he contacted Mr. Buchei’s employer directly and requested that Mr. Buchei and Mr. Bugger be released from work on March 26, 2026 to observe the ballot retrieval and count. On March 26, 2026, Mr. Buchei observed the ballot retrieval and count.
The Election Supervisor denied the protest, finding that Mr. Buchei’s complaint had been addressed and Mr. Hogue’s violation of the Rules had been corrected.
Determination
At the hearing, Mr. Buchei requested that the Election Supervisor’s determination be revised and reissued to include an explicit finding that Mr. Hogue violated the Rules and impose a remedy.
Article IX, Section 1(f) of the Rules provides that “[t]ime spent observing shall be considered as time spent on Union business” and that “upon written request of any observer, the appropriate Union officer, business agent, steward, etc., shall so certify to such observer’s employer or to any other person or entity to whom the observer reasonably requests such certification be given.”
Mr. Hogue’s March 23, 2026 response to Mr. Buchei’s written request constituted a violation of Article IX, Section 1(f) of the Rules. However, when the OES investigator contacted Mr. Hogue and instructed him to comply with Article IX, Section 1(f), Mr. Hogue did so promptly and corrected the violation before the election took place. As a result, Mr. Buchei was not prevented from observing the ballot retrieval and count. Thus, the violation was remedied. Accordingly, I find it unnecessary under these circumstances to order a revision of the Election Supervisor’s decision or to impose any further remedy.
For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is DENIED.
SO ORDERED
Hon. Barbara S. Jones (Ret.)
Election Appeals Master
DATED: June 12, 2026
DISTRIBUTION LIST (VIA EMAIL):
Riley Buchei
rileybuchei222@gmail.com
Spencer Hogue
s.hogue@teamsterslocal222.org
Britt Miller
britt@teamsterslocal222.org
David Suetholz, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
DSuetholz@teamster.org
Edward M. Gleason, Jr.
ed@hsglawgroup.com
James 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
Hon. Timothy S. Hillman
thillman@ibtvote.org
Jim Devine
jdevine@ibtvote.org; jim.devine@gmail.com
Kelly Hogan
kelly.hogan@nelsonmullins.com
Paul Dever
pdever@ibtvote.org
Deborah Schaaf
dschaaf@ibtvote.org; Debschaaf33@gmail.com