Protest Decisions

IN RE: JOHN DEGRAZIO, 
Eligibility Decision 2000 EAD 42
Issued: October 27, 2000
OEA Case No. 101201AT

John DeGrazio, secretary-treasurer of Local Union 194, filed a timely pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b)(1) of the Rules for the 2000-2001 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). By letter received on October 12, 2000, Mr. DeGrazio contends that Kenneth Von Spreckelsen, who was nominated for delegate at the local's October 10, 2000 nominations meeting, was ineligible to run for delegate as he had been suspended during at least part of the relevant twenty-four month period for establishing eligibility.

Election Administrator representative Lois M. Tuttle investigated this protest.

Article VI, Section 1(a) of the Rules provides:

To be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate or International officer position, one must:

(1) 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;

(2) 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

(3) Be eligible to hold office if elected.

On September 20, 2000, prior to Local 194's nominations meeting, the Election Administrator's office received Mr. Von Spreckelsen's request for verification of his eligibility. Upon receiving his request, Lois Tuttle, an Election Administrator representative, pulled his TITAN record. The TITAN record reflected that Mr. Von Spreckelsen had been suspended from membership on November 1, 1996. As of that date, payments in the amount of dues continued to be collected by the local as "Administrative Fees." On August 20, 1997, before the commencement of the twenty-four month period at issue, the TITAN record indicated that the suspension was lifted and that Mr. Von Spreckelsen resumed normal status as a dues-paying member on checkoff status. Because she had no reason to believe the TITAN record to be inaccurate, the Election Administrator representative investigated only certain months in which dues checkoff payments were remitted late to the local and determined Mr. Von Spreckelsen to be eligible. Therefore, in accordance with office protocol, on October 5, 2000, she sent Mr. Von Spreckelsen the Election Administrator's verification of Mr. Von Spreckelsen's eligibility to run as a candidate for delegate or alternate delegate at the International Convention.

On October 10, 2000, Mr. Von Spreckelsen was nominated as a delegate at the local's nominations meeting. Two days later, the Election Administrator's office received Mr. DeGrazio's protest, which claimed that Mr. Von Spreckelsen was ineligible to run as he had been suspended from membership pursuant to an October 23, 1996 decision of the IBT General President, then Ron Carey. Along with his protest, Mr. DeGrazio provided a copy of the General President's decision.

According to the General President's decision, this suspension arose out of actions which occurred when Mr. Von Spreckelsen had been the local's vice president and William VanDerWoude, who was also charged, had been the local's president. In his decision, the General President determined, along with the Article XIX hearing panel which investigated the charges, that Mr. Von Spreckelsen and Mr. VanDerWoude had "breached their fiduciary duties and violated the IBT Constitution and the Local 194 Bylaws by, among other things, failing to take all necessary steps to protect the assets of Local 194 for the benefit of its members, selling a Local Union car to retiring Principal Officer Anthony Catenaro for less than fair market value, paying Local Union officers and employees bonuses and vacation pay without the knowledge of [sic] approval of the general membership when Local 194 could least afford it, and approving payments to Catenaro as compensation for administrative duties performed for the Local 194 funds." In the Matter of: Article XIX Charges Brought by the Temporary Trustee of Local Union 194, Joseph Padellaro Against William VanDerWoude and Kenneth Von Spreckelsen, p. 5 (October 23, 1996). Accordingly, the General President suspended Mr. Von Spreckelsen and Mr. VanDerWoude from membership for a period of three years and barred them from holding any office or accepting any employment with Local 194, the IBT or any IBT affiliated entity for the three-year period. P. 6 of decision.

Mr. DeGrazio's October 12, 2000 protest letter points out that, pursuant to the terms of the October 23, 1996 decision, the suspension imposed on Mr. Von Spreckelsen's membership could not have been lifted until, at the earliest, the fall of 1999, well within the 24-month period at issue. Mr. DeGrazio states that neither he nor the local knew of any reversal or modification of the General President's decision. Therefore, Mr. DeGrazio contends that, TITAN entries notwithstanding, Mr. Von Spreckelsen is ineligible to run as a delegate to the International Convention.

Investigation has revealed that Mr. DeGrazio's position is correct. IBT records reflect that, after the issuance of the General President's decision, Mr. Von Spreckelsen and Mr. VanDerWoude filed an appeal to the General Executive Board ("GEB"). On October 20, 1997, the General Executive Board dismissed the appeal and affirmed the General President's decision. On November 13, 1997, notice of this decision was sent to both Mr. Von Spreckelsen and Mr. VanDerWoude. Furthermore, the records show that neither Mr. Von Spreckelsen nor Mr. VanDerWoude filed a timely appeal of the GEB's decision.

In an October 24, 2000 conversation with the Election Administrator representative, Mr. Von Spreckelsen claimed that his due process rights had been violated as he had never received a copy of the GEB's October 20, 1997 decision. He also stated that he had no knowledge that any decision on his appeal from the 1996 General President's decision had ever been issued. In accordance with the Election Administrator representative's suggestion, Mr. Von Spreckelsen then faxed a letter to the current IBT General President asking him to reconsider his case and/or reopen his appeal because he had never received a copy of the GEB's decision.

In fact, the Election Administrator representative discovered the following day that Mr. Von Spreckelsen had, in fact, previously known of the GEB's October 20, 1997 decision. The IBT provided her with a copy of a September 24, 1999 letter in which Mr. Von Spreckelsen petitioned the GEB to review "the appeal that was submitted by Richard Volpe, on our behalf, to the I.B.T. convention in Philadelphia," as well as "a signed petition from over 500 members of Local 194, asking to overturn the ruling of the former General Executive Board." Mr. Von Spreckelsen also requested that the GEB "reestablish our good names by overturning that ruling, and…restor[ing] Bill Van Der Woude and myself to members in good standing." (Legal counsel and staff for the IBT state that no such appeal to the IBT Convention has ever appeared in their files. The Election Administrator has no evidence that the GEB has acted on the request contained in the September 24, 1999 letter.) Clearly, Mr. Von Spreckelsen had known about the GEB's October 20, 1997 decision at least as far back as his September 24, 1999 letter. Therefore, his due process claim may not be credited.

As to any claim of Mr. Von Spreckelsen that the Election Administrator should reverse his suspension on the merits, such a claim must be rejected. Mr. Von Spreckelsen had ample opportunity to argue his case before the General President, the GEB, and, if he chose, to take a timely appeal from that decision. For whatever reason, he did not do so.

Thus, Mr. Von Spreckelsen's suspension could not have been lifted until, at the very earliest, the fall of 1999, well within the 24-month period. Therefore, he could not have established the requisite 24-month period of continuous eligibility. Accordingly, it is the determination of the Election Administrator that Mr. Von Spreckelsen is INELIGIBLE to run as a delegate to the International Convention.

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. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Administrator in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify that basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:

Kenneth Conboy

Election Appeals Master

Latham & Watkins

Suite 1000

885 Third Avenue

New York, New York 10022

Fax: 212-751-4864

Copies of the request for hearing must be served upon the parties listed below, as well as upon the Election Administrator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, c/o International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, all within the time period prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.

William A. Wertheimer, Jr.

William A. Wertheimer, Jr.

Election Administrator

cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master

J. Griffin Morgan, Regional Director (Atlantic Area)

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