Protest Decisions

IN RE: TOM W. KRAUSE,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 127
Issued: February 2, 2001
OEA Case No. PR013013AT

Tom W. Krause, a member of Local 992 and delegate candidate on the Rank and File Reform Slate, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2000-2001 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). Krause alleges that Local 992 has acted improperly by arranging for the printing of an excessive number of ballots.

Election Administrator representative Jason E. Weidenfeld investigated this protest.

Findings of Fact

Local 992 has about 1,500 members. Tom Krause asked Local 992 for the number of ballots that would be printed for the local's upcoming delegate election. Local secretary-treasurer George Woods responded in writing: "The Election Committee has informed me that the printer is to print exactly and no more than 1800 ballots, secret envelopes and return envelopes."

Upon receiving this information, Krause filed a protest, arguing that the number of ballots to be printed is excessive and unnecessary. He cited the Election Administrator's IBT Local Union Manual for Conducting Delegate Elections ("Delegate Election Guide") for the proposition that the number of ballots to be printed should be about five percent more than the number of local union members. The number to be printed is, in fact, approximately twenty percent more than the number of Local 992 members.

When asked how the Local 992 Election Committee arrived at the decision to print 1,800 ballots, Local 992 secretary Diane French, a member of the Committee, said that the Committee knew that the last active roster contained more than 1,500 names. The members discussed what number of ballots would be sufficient and agreed that 1,800 seemed like an appropriate amount.

Analysis

The Delegate Election Guide is just that-a guide to help parties better conduct local union delegate elections. The Guide does not provide black-letter law nor does it create an additional set of Rules. With respect to ballots, page 19 of the Delegate Election Guide states that "[a]t least an extra five percent" should be printed but does not provide a maximum number of ballots to be printed. The decision to print 1,800 ballots neither violates the Rules nor contradicts the Delegate Election Guide.

Accordingly, we DENY this protest.

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 the 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 all other parties, as well as upon the Election Administrator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 727 15^th Street, NW, 10^th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, all within the time period prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.

William A. Wertheimer, Jr.

Election Administrator

cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master

Michael B. Nicholson, General Counsel

J. Griffin Morgan, Regional Director

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