Protest Decisions

IN RE: Tom Leedham Rank and File Power Slate,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 422
Issued: August 8, 2001
OEA Case No. PR071911ME

The Tom Leedham Rank and File Power slate (the "Leedham 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 employer Airborne Express ("Airborne") violated Article VII, Section 11(e) of the Rules by denying IBT members access to an employee parking lot for the purpose of campaigning among IBT members for the International officer election.

Election Administrator representative Lisa Sonia Taylor investigated this protest.

On July 17, 2001 at approximately 7:00 a.m., Teamster members were campaigning on behalf of the Leedham slate in the parking lot of the Airborne facility in Tinnicum Township, Pennsylvania. After 10 to 15 minutes Gregory Sanginiti, a manager at the facility, asked the group to leave the premises. The members moved off the parking lot and stood outside of the gate so that they could talk to drivers as they were leaving the facility. William Boe, Director of Labor Relations for Airborne, stated that the campaigners were asked to leave because there were more than five members campaigning on the premises in violation of Airborne's rules, and because Shawn Dougherty, one of the campaigners, is a former employee who is not allowed on Airborne property.

Boe submitted a memo regarding Airborne's limitation of the number of campaigners to five at any given time, citing to the decision of the Election Officer in Murphy, P663 (May 9, 1996), aff'd, 96 EAM 190 (May 16, 1996), which approved such a restriction.

Boe also submitted a copy of an arbitration decision upholding the discharge of Shawn Dougherty, who was part of the group campaigning at the facility. Because of the nature of the offense for which Dougherty was terminated, Airborne will not allow Dougherty on its property. Further, Boe submitted a written statement from Sanginiti stating:

I saw Shaun Dougherty and more than 5 individuals in the front parking lot of the PHL facility. I also witnessed driver Dave Tierney stop and talk to this group on their way into the building. I went out into the lot and spoke with Dougherty advising him that he knows he is not allowed on Airborne property and I did not want to make a police issue of it. Dougherty stated that he would move out on to the street… then Dougherty and this group of campaigners moved on to public property and resumed their activities for a considerable amount of time thereafter.

One of the campaigners, Alexandra Pope, stated that they were not told at the time that they were asked to leave that the reason for their exclusion was Dougherty's presence or the five-member limitation established in Murphy. Pope also stated that besides herself and Dougherty, Tom Leedham was the only other campaigner in the Airborne parking lot that day, and that all were asked to leave.

Pope further stated that drivers were warned that they could not stop at the gate to speak with the campaigners. Airborne representative Karen Kezele denied that any employee would be disciplined for talking to campaigners on their own time, and added that the campaigners outside the facility gate interfered with employees that were on duty. Pope responded that this interference would not have taken place if the campaigners were not asked to leave the parking lot.

We credit Pope's statements. Sanginiti's memo shows that the manager saw more than five people in the parking lot, but failed to distinguish between campaigners and employees. While Murphy approved a limit on the number of campaigners to five, that number was not intended to include employees approached by campaigners. We also find that although Airborne had a concern regarding Dougherty's access to its facilities sufficient to justify his exclusion from its property, it improperly used this concern to exclude not just Dougherty, but also Leedham and Pope. The proper course would have been simply to ask Dougherty to leave. For these reasons, we GRANT the protest.

Remedy

When the Rules have been violated, the Election Administrator "may take whatever remedial action is appropriate." Article XIII, Section 4. In fashioning the appropriate remedy, the Election Administrator considers the nature and seriousness of the violation, as well as its potential for interfering with the election process.

Based on the foregoing, the Election Administrator orders Airborne to cease and desist from any denial of access by IBT members to Airborne's employee parking lots in violation of Article VII, Section 11(e) of the Rules and the decision in Murphy.

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 15^th Street, N.W., 10^th Floor, Washington, D.C. 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 422

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