IN RE: TYRONE UHRYNCHUK,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 293
Issued: March 31, 2001
OEA Case No. PR022214CA
Tyrone Uhrynchuk, a member of Local 213 and a supporter of the Rank and File slate (the "RF slate") in that local's delegate election, 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").[1] The protest outlines a number of concerns with respect to the handling of the ballots between the date of mailing and the date of the count in Local 213.
Election Administrator representative Gwen Randall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Local 213's ballot committee consists of eight representatives. Local 213 appointed five members, along with two additional members recommended by Uhrynchuk on behalf of the RF slate. The eighth member is the local union's office coordinator.
The local's delegate election ballots were mailed on February 21, 2001. Ballots were counted on March 14, 2001.
Uhrynchuk expressed concern that he did not have information as to who had custody of the keys to the post office box where ballots were returned. Because of his concerns, which were echoed by other members at a February 21, 2001 membership meeting, the ballot committee changed its procedure on February 22. It agreed that Canada Post would retain the keys to the post office boxes for voted ballots and undeliverable ballots at the post office and release them only to not less than two ballot committee members, who would be required to identify themselves with picture I.D.
Uhrynchuk also noted that his slate had sent a February 19, 2001, mailing of campaign literature to 9,366 Local 213 members. Two days later, ballots were mailed to 9,472 members. Uhrynchuk argues that the RF slate was not permitted to mail to the full membership, even though that was their request. The mailing labels for both mailings came from the IBT, and both sets of labels were e-mailed directly to the same mail house. We conclude that the difference in number is solely a result of a change in entries to the data maintained in IBT's TITAN computer system. We have no evidence that this difference results from any impropriety.
Uhrynchuk also complains that the local's vendor printed approximately 1,000 extra ballots, which he claims is excessive, and that the extra ballots were kept in a safe located in the office of the principal officer of the local, to which he or his secretary had access. The ballot committee advises that in fact there were some 1,300 extra ballots printed. Initially, the Committee agreed to keep 1,000 extra, but later agreed that 500 was sufficient. Accordingly, any extra ballots over 500 were destroyed in the presence of all of the members of the ballot committee, including the two members recommended by the RF slate. Changes were also made with respect to access to the storage location of extra ballots so that the ballots could not be accessed without at least two ballot committee members being present.
Uhrynchuk also claims that the RF slate was not given a schedule of the times that undelivered ballots would be picked up for processing. Following receipt of the protest, the sought-after schedule was provided to all candidates. One of the ballot committee members who had been recommended by the RF slate visited the post office every morning with another member of the ballot committee to pick up undelivered ballots for remailing when possible.
Uhrynchuk further alleges that seventy-seven ballots were destroyed at the mail house. The ballots in question all had labels from the TITAN System that contained no address. Initially, the mail house advised that these ballots had been destroyed. In fact, these ballots were sent to the local among the extra ballots for use in remailing. When this was discovered, the ballot committee attempted to locate the addresses for each of the members for whom the ballots were intended and, where possible, remailed the ballots. This also was done in the presence of one of the ballot committee members recommended by the RF slate.
Finally, Uhrynchuk objected to the worksite list provided to the Slate, as it contained outdated information. When the protest was received, the local union provided a corrected worksite list to the RF slate.
At the ballot count on March 14, 2001, the McGill Unified Members slate was elected. No further protests have been received with respect to the Local 213 delegate election.
The issues raised by Uhrynchuk do not suggest that any conduct occurred which deprived the members of Local 213 of a fair, honest, open and informed election. Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.
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 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 293
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY AIRBORNE EXPRESS):
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
Local 213 Teamsters
Rank and File Slate
Anthony Brown
11060 - 15th Street
Surrey, BC Y3R 6J2
John Stam
10581 Bell Road
Chilliwack, BC V2P 7X3
McGill Unified Members Slate
Don McGill
5661 Fairlight Crescent
Delta, BC V4E 1B3
IBT Local 213
490 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5T 1X3
Gwen K. Randall, Q.C.
Suite 3300, 421-7th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4K9
[1] On January 17, 2001, Uhrynchuk was nominated as a delegate candidate on the RF slate. He was declared ineligible in Uhrynchuk, 2001 EAD 151 (February 8, 2001), aff'd, 01 EAM 38 (February 26, 2001).