Protest Decisions

IN RE: DARRELL DAWSON, 
Eligibility Decision 2001 EAD 87
Issued: January 22, 2001
OEA Case No. E010211AT

On December 15, 2000, Darrell Dawson, a member of Local Union 639, filed a request with this office to verify his eligibility. Thirteen days later, our office issued a "Notice of Ineligibility" which determined Mr. Dawson to be ineligible based on the following reasons:

For the months of January 1999 through March 1999, your checkoff dues payments were between six and four months' behind. Between April 1999 and December 13 2000, your checkoff dues payments were consistently two to three months' behind. Since at least January 1999, your local has notified you of the dues arrearage every month through written receipts. However, you did nothing to pay this arrearage until December 13, 2000. You therefore failed to pay your dues arrearage within thirty (30) days of notice of such arrearage as required by Article X, Section 5(c) of the IBT Constitution.

Mr. Dawson timely appealed this decision, contending that as he was on checkoff and had earnings from which the proper amount of dues could have been deducted from each applicable month within the eligibility period, he should not be penalized for his employer's error in "[im]properly administering the checkoff." John Catlett, the local's president, further contends that there are no grounds on which to find Mr. Dawson ineligible as the local never sent him a notice that his employer had failed to transmit dues payments as required under Article X, Sec. 5(c) of the IBT Constitution.

Upon further review, we agree with both Mr. Dawson's and Mr. Catlett's contentions. The dues receipts which the local sent Mr. Dawson each month did not constitute the 30-day notice of dues arrearage required by Article X, Section 5(c) of the IBT Constitution. Therefore, we REVERSE our earlier decision and find him ELIGIBLE 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 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 Administrator, 727 Fifteenth Street, N.W., 10^th Floor, Washington, DC 20005, Facsimile (202) 454-1501. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.

William A. Wertheimer, Jr.

William A. Wertheimer, Jr.

Election Administrator

cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master

J. Griffith Morgan, Atlantic Area Regional Director

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