IN RE: VIRGINIA KNIGHT,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 180
Issued: February 21, 2001
OEA Case No. PR012913MW
Virginia Knight, a member of Local 320, 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"). She alleges that Local 320 violated Article VII, Section 5(b) of the Rules when it discontinued its alleged past practice of mailing a copy of the local union's meeting schedule and updates to all delegate or alternate delegate candidates. Knight lives 85 miles from the Local 320 hall.
Election Administrator representative Dennis Sarsany investigated the protest.
Knight claims that since the 1996 post-trusteeship election in which the current Local 320 officers were first elected, Local 320 (which has a Minnesota-wide membership) has mailed a list of union meetings to the candidates in its elections. In the current election, Local 320 has disclosed its meeting list to delegate and alternate delegate candidates only if they visit the local union's office. Under the supplemental election rules adopted by Local 320 for its delegate election, the local union is required only to make such a meeting list available to candidates. The local union is free to do so under those rules only at its offices.
We DENY the protest because the practice followed here provides Local 320 delegate candidates with greater rights than those afforded by the Rules. Article VII, Section 5(b) of the Rules provides that "[e]ach candidate for International office has the right to request from the Local Union a list of the dates, times and places of its regularly scheduled general or special membership meetings. . ." There is no evidence here that any candidate for International office has been deprived of such a list. Under this Rules provision, Knight and other non-International officer candidates have no right to a list of Local 320 membership meetings.
Nor is Knight harmed by the local's policy. She is a member of a candidate slate that includes candidates who live or work relatively near the offices of Local 320. Erik Jensen, one of the leaders of Knight's slate, is the only person who submitted a request for the meeting list. However, Knight professes not to know this. We are unconvinced.
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 15th Street NW, Tenth Floor, Washington, DC 20005, 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
2001 EAD 180
DISTRIBUTION LIST VIA UPS NEXT DAY AIR:
Patrick Szymanski
IBT General Counsel
25 Louisiana Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik,
Raymond, Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway
Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
J. Douglas Korney
Korney & Heldt
30700 Telegraph Road
Suite 1551
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
Barbara Harvey
Penobscot Building
Suite 1800
645 Griswold
Detroit, MI 48226
Betty Grdina
Yablonski, Both & Edelman
Suite 800
1140 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tom Leedham c/o Stefan Ostrach
110 Mayfair
Eugene, OR 97404
IBT Local 320
3001 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414
Virginia Knight
60243 195th Avenue
Dodge Center, Minnesota 55927
Dennis Sarsany
1829 Eddy Street
Chicago, IL 60657