IN RE: HOFFA UNITY SLATE,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 386
Issued: June 11, 2001
OEA Case No. PR053011NA
The Hoffa Unity 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"). It alleges that Labor Notes, as an employer and IBT vendor, improperly contributed its mailing list to the Tom Leedham Rank and File Power slate (the "Leedham slate").
Election Administrator representative Lisa Sonia Taylor investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
The Leedham slate mailed an April 16, 2001 solicitation letter for contributions to its legal and accounting fund. It was addressed to "supporter[s] of union democracy," was critical of the Hoffa campaign, and included the following paragraph:
Under the election rules, non-Teamster members are allowed to contribute to a fund to pay for legal and accounting services. Your contribution of $1000 to the Tom Leedham Legal & Accounting Fund could help uphold an appeal sanctioning Hoffa for threatening reform delegates. A pledge of $500 might pay for professional analysis of Hoffa's campaign filings to discover illegal employer contributions. A $100 donation will help us file an equal-access protest granting us an article in a Teamster-affiliate newspaper.
By letter dated May 7, 2001, the Hoffa slate contacted the offices of the publication Labor Notes, claiming that it supplied the Leedham campaign with access to its mailing and subscription list in violations of the Rules. The slate suggested that Labor Notes could remedy this violation by providing equal access to the Hoffa campaign. When Labor Notes failed to respond, this protest was filed..
Our investigation revealed that the mailing list used for the April 16 mailing came from an entity other than Labor Notes. The Leedham slate purchased the mailing list from this entity at a cost of between 16 and 17 cents per name. Our investigation further revealed that this price was commercially reasonable, given the availability of targeted mailing lists for less than this price from commercial vendors. Thus, the evidence here does not establish that the mailing list was contributed to the Leedham campaign by Labor Notes or any other employer. Rather, it was purchased at a commercially reasonable rate, a practice permitted under the Rules.
Accordingly, we DENY the protest.
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 (fax: 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 385
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
Labor Notes
7435 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, MI 48210