Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
July 18, 1996
VIA FACSIMILE
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
Diane Hindman
Holiday Inn
Cherry Hill, NJ
Fax: 609-662-2913
Bill Kehrer
Holiday Inn
Cherry Hill, NJ
Fax: 609-662-2913
Stanley Jenkins
Holiday Inn
Cherry Hill, NJ
Fax: 609-662-2913
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
VIA HAND DELIVERY
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
Charlie Teas, Sergeant-at-Arms
Holiday Inn Select
Philadelphia, PA
Carey Campaign
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Rooms 113B and 113C
Philadelphia, PA
John Sullivan, Associate General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Room 110
Philadelphia, PA
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. CONV-16-IBT
Gentlepersons:
Diane Hindman and Bill Kehrer, both members of Local Union 299, filed a protest pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) against International Convention Sergeant-at-Arms
Charlie Teas, who is appointed to his post by the IBT, but is not an elected delegate. The protesters allege that Mr. Teas failed to act impartially by yelling and clapping during voice votes, and by permitting people to stand in front of Hoffa supporters when they got to the microphones on the Convention floor so that they could not be seen on closed circuit television.
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
The protesters also allege that Mr. Teas interfered with Mr. Kehrer’s political rights by telling another sergeant-at-arms, in reference to Mr. Kehrer, that “We already have his name and we’ll take care of him.”
Mr. Teas denies the allegations. He states that Mr. Kehrer was very disruptive during the first day of the Convention when U.S. Senator Arlen Specter attempted to speak, and that he might have told Mr. Kehrer then that he could be removed for disruption. Mr. Teas states that he clapped when a Canadian representative spoke, but had not yelled or clapped during any voice votes.
Regional Coordinator Judith E. Kuhn investigated the protest.
At one point during the first two days of the Convention, when the floor was being cleared, Mr. Kehrer stopped on his way out of the hall to talk to another delegate. At this point, one sergeant-at-arms, who was standing with Mr. Teas, wrote down Mr. Kehrer’s name.
Mr. Kehrer then said to the sergeant-at-arms who was with Mr. Teas, “I’m leaving. You can cross off my name.” Mr. Teas interjected, “Don’t worry about his name. We already have his name, and we’ll take care of him.” Mr. Kehrer admits that he has been near Mr. Teas since that time, and Mr. Teas has been friendly to him. There has been no further incident.
The jurisdiction of the Election Officer at the Convention is limited to the process for nominating International officer candidates from the Convention floor or voting on those nominations, along with conduct regulated by the Rules. See Syzmanski, CONV-9-IBT, et seq. (July 16, 1996); Bodine, CONV-17-IBT, et seq. (July 16, 1996).
The protesters’s first allegation concerns Mr. Teas’s behavior during voice votes. The Convention was, at the time concerned in this protest, considering issues concerning the governance of the union. Voice votes were taken concerning some of these internal issues, but no voice votes related to nominating International officer candidates from the Convention floor and/or voting on those nominations. This allegation, therefore, is not within the Election Officer’s jurisdiction.
The protesters also claim that Mr. Teas permitted delegates with Carey signs to stand in front of a speaker at the microphone who supports Mr. Hoffa thereby blocking this speaker from appearing on closed-circuit television. The protester has not alleged that supporters of Mr. Hoffa have been denied the right to speak. Rather, he contends that at one microphone during a portion of the Monday and Tuesday sessions, one Hoffa supporter was blocked from appearing on closed-circuit television when at the microphone. On these allegations, the Election Officer does not, under the Rules, find evidence of retaliation by Mr. Teas.
The last claim concerns an allegation that Mr. Teas interfered with Mr. Kehrer’s political rights by telling another sergeant-at-arms, in reference to Mr. Kehrer, that “We already have his name and we’ll take care of him.” The Election Office finds that based on the context of these comments, this statement did not constitute a threat, in violation of the Rules.
Diane Hindman & Bill Kehrer
July 18, 1996
Page 1
The protest is therefore DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 204, Facsimile (202) 418-2426. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Judith E. Kuhn, Regional Coordinator