IN RE: RANDALL CENICEROS,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 383
Issued: June 5, 2001
OEA Case No. PR052411WE
Randall Ceniceros, a member of Local 630, 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"). Ceniceros alleges that local union divisional representative Michael Paul and shop stewards Dennis Glassco, Francisco Hernandez and Ernie Estrada retaliated against him because of his independent candidacy in the local's delegate elections.
Election Administrator representative Lisa Sonia Taylor investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Ceniceros unsuccessfully ran for the offices of shop steward and IBT convention delegate from Local 630, and recently announced that he would run for a position on the Local 630 executive board. He claims that the successful candidates in the shop steward and delegate elections are hostile to him because of his opposition candidacy and have accordingly filed internal union charges against him in retaliation.
On May 18, 2001, Ceniceros received a letter from Local 630's secretary-treasury Jerry Vercruse notifying him of the charges. It stated:
A Local 630 Divisional Representative and members are preferring charges against you … You are charged with the alleged violation of Article XIX, Section 7(b)(5) of the International Constitution and Section 20(7)(a)(1) of the Local Union By-Laws.
Specifically, it is alleged that you have interfered with the Business Representative and the Shop Stewards at Sysco in their efforts to represent the members employed by Sysco by issuing a hand book entitled "Teamsters Express Rookie Handbook" and conducting weekly meetings which mislead members by purporting to advise the members of their legal, contractual and membership rights which are the functions of the Business Representatives and the elected shop stewards.
Article XIX, Section 7(b)(5) of the IBT Constitution provides for trial of members on charges by other members alleging "[c]onduct which is disruptive, interferes with, or induces others to disrupt or interfere with, the performance of any union's legal or contractual obligation."
Divisional representative Paul claims that he filed the charges against Ceniceros after a steward reported to him that Ceniceros had compiled and distributed without union authorization a handbook that made false claims to members about their terms of employment. Paul alleges that stewards Hernandez, Estrada and Glassco told him that they wished to join him in filing the charges against Ceniceros.
Ceniceros had received a May 1 letter from secretary-treasurer Vercruse concerning the handbook, asking him to provide a copy to the local and inform it of any violations of members' rights. Ceniceros claims that a copy of this letter was posted on the enclosed union bulletin board at Sysco, to which only the stewards have access. He claims this was highly unusual because the letter was addressed to him personally.
Ceniceros further claims that at this time he had not completed the handbook, but had only a draft, which he had showed to various members in order to get their input. In response to the May 1 letter, Ceniceros wrote Vercruse, stating it was not his intention "to interfere with the performance of the union [b]ut [instead] simply compile information that if read, could help the new employee become acquainted with the procedures and policies."
Shop steward Paul says that although he never saw a copy of Ceniceros' book, he and other stewards were concerned about its contents and its effect on the members. He stated that Ceniceros attempted to describe the contents of the book to him and from this description he believes that the material may be outdated and misleading because the contract with the employer has recently changed. Paul stated that he consulted the local's attorney regarding the issue. He claims that the attorney advised that this was a violation of the IBT Constitution and helped him draft the charges against Ceniceros. Paul denied that this action had anything to do with the delegate election.
While witnesses differ in their view of whether Ceniceros' activities undermined the local union, no evidence was offered supporting Ceniceros' claim that the internal union charges here were brought against him in retaliation for his independent delegate candidacy. For that reason, we DENY the protest, since our jurisdiction extends only to deciding whether the charges were in retaliation for activity protected by the Rules. We make no finding on the merits of the internal charges.
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 383
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Tom Leedham c/o Stefan Ostrach
110 Mayfair
Eugene, OR 97404
Randall Cenciceros
14618 Long View Drive
Fontana, CA 92337
IBT Local 630
750 South Stanford Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Michael Paul
39543 Beacon Lane
Palmdale, CA 93551
Dennis Glassco
1321 S. Azalea Avenue
Ontario, CA 91761
Francisco Hernandez
950 Fall Creek Court
Walnut, CA 91789
Ernesto Estrada
14130 Crescenta Way
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91736
Christine Mrak
2357 Hobart Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116