IN RE: BOB DOSS,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 435
Issued: August 31, 2001
OEA Case No. PR082212WE
Bob Doss, a Local 63 business agent, 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"). Doss alleges that General President candidate Tom Leedham and two supporters violated the Rules by campaigning on the dock and inside the office of Roadway Express' San Bernardino, California facility.
Election Administrator representative Jason Weidenfeld investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Doss was not a witness to the alleged events, which he heard about through Sandy Rizzo, a Local 63 steward who works in the office of the San Bernardino facility. Rizzo said that on August 20, 2001, a man in a UPS uniform, accompanied by two men in street clothes, asked to leave information in the break room, and she agreed. Shortly afterwards, she went to the break room, realized that the man in the UPS uniform was Tom Leedham, and contacted a local union business agent to come to the facility. Two business agents arrived shortly after the visitors had left the facility. Rizzo did not recognize the two people with Leedham. She removed campaign materials that had been posted at the facility.
Phil Broussard, a Local 63 member who works at the facility, briefly listened to the campaigners in the break room. He said that one person was in a UPS uniform and that the two others wore "Leedham" shirts. Broussard indicated that he is not very active politically, did not recognize any of the campaigners, and left the break room after a short period.
Memo Moreno, another Local 63 member at the facility, also listened briefly to the campaigners in the break room. Moreno does not know Leedham and would not be able to recognize him. Moreno recalls that the people in the break room wanted him to vote for Leedham, but he did not recognize any of them.
Leedham denies being in California on August 20, 2001 and has provided a boarding pass indicating that he flew to California on a flight arriving in Los Angeles late in the evening on August 21, 2001. He alleges that he does not know who might have been campaigning for him inside the Roadway facility and that he did not campaign in California on this trip until August 22, 2001, the day after his arrival.
Based on the evidence proffered by Leedham and the protestor's lack of corroborating evidence, we find that Leedham did not campaign at the San Bernardino Roadway Express facility on August 20, 2001. 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 (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 435
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
Todd Thompson
Hoffa Unity Slate 2001
209 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
James L. Hicks, Jr.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75207
IBT Local 63
845 Oak Park Rd.
Covina, CA 91724
John Gasparovic
General Counsel
Roadway Express
1077 Gorge Blvd.
Akron, OH 44309
Bob Doss
12535 Aspenview St.
Victorville, CA 92392
Christine Mrak
2357 Hobart Ave., SW
Seattle, WA 98116