IN RE: RODNEY RHOADES,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 219
Issued: March 7, 2001
OEA Case No. PR021111SO
Rodney Rhoades, a Local 19 member and delegate candidate on the Rhoades 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"). He alleges that Local 19 trustee Jerry Vincent violated Article II, Section 4 of the Rules by his refusal to appoint a Rhoades slate designee to the Local 19 election committee.
Election Administrator representative Dolores Hall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Rhoades alleges that at the nomination meeting, Vincent advised him that the Rhoades slate could designate a Local 19 member to be appointed the local union's election committee. Rhoades designated Lyndon Heffernan, but Vincent refused to appoint Heffernan. Vincent admits this, and states that the reason for his refusal was what he claims is his knowledge that Heffernan planned to join a slate of candidates along with Rhoades to contest any future officer election at Local 19.[1]
Local 19's local union plan was prepared by Vincent and signed by him on November 16, 2000. Item 3a. of the plan contained a description of the composition of the local union's election committee, stating:
Trustee of Local and/or his designee Jerry T. Vincent, Chairman. Each Slate to have one person on the Election Committee (Person must be from Dallas area). Office staff to assist in all phases of election process. Outsider will be hired by Chairman to assist committee is (sic) needed.
Article II, Section 4(a) of the Rules provides that the Election Administrator will approve local union plans with such modifications as may be determined to be necessary and appropriate. The Election Administrator approved the Local 19's plan on December 7, 2000. Item 3a was unchanged. Nor was it subsequently modified. Heffernan was eligible to serve on the committee, being a member in good standing of Local 19 and a resident of the Dallas area.
Based on the foregoing, we GRANT the protest and find that Vincent violated Article II, Section 4(a) and (b)(3) of the Rules by refusing to accept the Rhoades slate representative on the Election Committee, as contemplated by the local union plan. Since the Local 19 election has now been completed and the Rhoades slate candidates won, we limit our remedy to an order that Vincent cease and desist from any further violation of the Rules.
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 (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.
William A. Wertheimer, Jr.
Election Administrator
cc: Kenneth Conboy
2001 EAD 219
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 Union 19
Jerry Vincent, Trustee
223 Wood Street
Grapevine, TX 76051
Rodney Rhoades
2530 Marble Falls
Spring, TX 77373
Michael Ellison
410 York Drive
Seagoville, TX 75159
Dolores C. Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
[1] Ballots were tallied in the delegate election on February 27. The Rhoades slate won the three delegate and three alternate delegate seats. The margin of victory between the third and fourth place finishers in the delegate race was 268 votes; in the alternate delegate contest, 233. Challenged ballots were undeterminative and were not resolved.