Protest Decisions

IN RE: MAUREEN REILEY,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 185
Issued: February 22, 2001
OEA Case No. PR021412MW

Maureen Reiley, a member of Local 2000, 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").

Reiley protests several aspects of the election and nomination process for Local 2000. First, Reiley alleges that amendments have been made to Local 2000's Local Union Plan for conducting its delegate election (the "Plan") after the fifteen-day period during which members could offer comments on the proposed Plan. Reiley also protests that she had no opportunity to comment on these amendments. Second, Reiley protests the appointment of Barbara Zack Quindel to conduct the nomination and election process for Local 2000, contending that Quindel is unable to act impartially. Third, Reiley alleges that Quindel has improperly prohibited persons nominated as delegate or alternate delegate candidates from presiding at nomination meetings. Fourth, Reiley alleges that Quindel has insisted that certain people declare whether they intend to run for delegate before the nomination meetings begin, in order to benefit the slate supporting Tom Leedham.

Election Administrator representative Jason Weidenfeld investigated the protest.

Findings of Fact

Local 2000 is a large local union that will elect twelve delegates and three alternate delegates to attend the IBT International Convention in Las Vegas in June 2001. Local 2000 represents airline employees throughout the United States. To provide many members with an opportunity to attend a nomination meeting in person, such meetings were held (or will soon be held) in the base cities of Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, and San Francisco.

Local 2000 requested amendments to its Plan since its original submission to us on September 22, 2000. Among these changes, Local 2000 asked on January 23, 2001 that we permit Barbara Zack Quindel to replace the delegate election supervisor named in the original Plan submission. Quindel was the Election Officer who oversaw the 1995-1996 IBT International Union delegate and officer elections, including the disputed and, ultimately, overturned presidential election between Ron Carey and James Hoffa, Jr. According to the request, Local 2000's new administration, which took office on January 1, 2001, viewed favorably Quindel's experience and reputation as the Election Officer. On January 25, 2001, Quindel wrote a letter to the Election Administrator requesting various changes to the plan, including her appointment as the outside agency overseeing Local 2000's nomination meetings and delegate election. On January 29, 2001, we approved the Plan, incorporating several amendments, including the appointment of Quindel.

Quindel was involved in the controversy surrounding Ron Carey's apparent victory in the 1996 election of the IBT president. Carey received a majority of the votes for president, but Quindel refused to certify Carey as the winner, based on an investigation into the financing of his campaign. Instead, she ordered a rerun and decided to allow Carey to participate. At the time of this decision, Quindel asserted that she knew of no evidence indicating that Carey knew about the financing schemes.

On August 22, 1997, Quindel announced her resignation as Election Officer, effective September 30, 1997. In early September 1997, new information prompted Quindel to reopen the investigation of Carey's personal knowledge and participation in campaign financing improprieties. On September 19, 1997, in the course of the renewed investigation, Quindel became aware that the Teamsters, under Carey, had contributed to a political organization to which Quindel and her husband belonged. Based on this information, Quindel recused herself from the Carey investigation on September 23, 1997; she did not recuse herself as Election Officer. Quindel made no decision whether to bar Carey from the rerun.

Quindel has had no direct involvement with the 2000-2001 delegate elections outside of Local 2000. Since we approved her appointment, Quindel has sent a memorandum to base representatives at each base city (listed above), along with a copy of the Rules. The memorandum contains instructions for conducting the nomination meeting. Quindel asked in the memorandum for base representatives to inform her if they would not conduct their base's nomination meeting "so that I can directly provide [the person who will do so] with these instructions." Memorandum from Quindel, Section 1 (February 5, 2001). The memorandum does not request that any base representative provide the reason as to why he or she will not conduct the base's nomination meeting. In a conversation with our investigator, Quindel reiterated that she asked for this information to ensure that the person running the nomination meeting would understand what to do.

After sending the base representatives the memorandum, Quindel spoke with them to explain that if they planned to run for delegate or alternate delegate they could not preside at a nomination meeting. Although Quindel may have asked whether the base representatives would run for delegate or alternate delegate, she did not force them to tell her if this was the case. Instead, arrangements were made for another person to conduct the nomination meetings at bases where the base representatives declined to indicate whether they would run.

Analysis

Concerning Reiley's first allegation, she accurately points out that the Rules provide a fifteen-day period during which members may comment on the proposed local union plan. Article II, Section 4(d). Nevertheless, we have often permitted local unions to amend their plans after this period, so long as we determine that the amendments will not result in discrimination or an otherwise unfair election. Generally, we did not interfere with or question an administration's choice of a third party to run its delegate nomination meetings and election. (In fact, in no case did we disapprove of a local's choice made before our final approval.) We also allowed local unions more flexibility to amend their plans before they were approved. The administration of Local 2000 changed as of January 1, 2001-after the Plan had been submitted, but before it had been reviewed or approved by the Election Administrator.

Reiley states that she had no opportunity to comment on the proposed amendments to the Plan. When she requested a copy of the Plan, Local 2000 had not requested that Quindel run the delegate election, and we had not approved the Plan. In light of Local 2000's late request to substitute Quindel as the party conducting Local 2000's delegate election and the significance of Reiley's allegation that Quindel is not impartial, we will consider the merits of this allegation.

Reiley states "Quindel was forced to recuse herself as Election Officer due to numerous circumstances suggesting" that she could not act impartially, and Reiley questions whether Quindel can act impartially now. Quindel recused herself from the Carey investigation, not as Election Officer. Reiley has provided us with no competent evidence that Quindel did or said anything as Election Officer that would adversely affect her ability to run this election properly. We, therefore, find no valid reason to assume that Quindel will conduct Local 2000's delegate election without impartiality. Consequently, we maintain our approval of Quindel's appointment as the third party who will oversee Local 2000's delegate election.

Reiley also states that Quindel has acted without basis in prohibiting parties nominated to run for delegate from presiding at nomination meetings. The pre-printed Local Union Plan form created by the Election Administrator, however, explicitly provides, "Any local union officer or member who is running as a delegate or alternate delegate candidate . . . should not conduct the nomination or election of delegates or alternate delegates." (Emphasis in original.) We find that Quindel has not acted improperly by following our prohibition.

Finally, Reiley alleges that certain people had been forced to declare their intentions as to their candidacy before any nomination meeting. We find this position to be inaccurate. Local 2000 has various bases across the United States at which nomination meetings will be held. Quindel has sent to all base representatives instructions for conducting the nomination meeting. Conversations with two base representatives identified by the protestor indicated that Quindel never forced them to tell her whether they would run for delegate or alternate delegate. On the contrary, we find that Quindel understandably contacted base representatives to identify who would conduct the nomination meeting so that person would know what to do. We find no evidence to suggest that Quindel acted improperly by trying to determine whether any base representatives would run for delegate or alternate delegate. Likewise, we find no evidence that Quindel's instructions or questions were intended to aid supporters of the Tom Leedham campaign.

For the foregoing reasons we DENY the protest in its entirety.

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 that 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 above, as well as upon the Election Administrator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 727 15^th Street, N.W., 10^th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, facsimile (202) 454-1501, 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 (via fax: 212.751.4864)

2001 EAD 185

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