IN RE: MAURICE COBB,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 464
Issued: September 20, 2001
OEA Case No. PR083012AT
Maurice Cobb, a member of Local 528, 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") against the Hoffa Unity slate (the "Hoffa slate"). The protest alleges that Hoffa slate General Secretary-Treasurer candidate Tom Keegel campaigned inside the Bouldercrest facility of employer Kroger Company ("Kroger") in violation of the Rules.
Election Administrator representative Dolores Hall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Cobb alleges that candidate Keegel campaigned inside the Kroger facility on August 28, 2001. He says that Keegel was allowed into the warehouse, where he distributed campaign material and spoke to employees in the break room while they were on work time. Cobb claims that Kroger general manager Gordon Womble denied candidate Tom Leedham campaign access to company property in January 2001.
Kroger states that the Bouldercrest facility was sold in November 1998 to CS Integrated Retail Services Atlanta, LLC ("CSI"). They further advise that Kroger does not employ Womble. Several attempts were made to contact Womble, who remains the general manager of the Bouldercrest facility, to no avail.
Kevin Goddard, freezer operations manager for CSI at Bouldercrest, stated he did not see the "union people" at the plant campaigning on August 28, but was told by Womble that they would be there. Goddard says that he does not know the names of the individuals who campaigned at the facility, but that Womble told him several Teamster officials were going to visit the plant to talk with the rank-and-file members of the union because there was an election going on and they wanted the members to meet them. Goddard says he has only been employed by CSI for about a year and knew nothing about attempts by any other candidate to campaign at the facility in January.
The respondents confirmed that Keegel, Hoffa slate candidate Ken Wood, and Local 528 business managers Larry Hogue and Scott Chandler did, in fact, campaign on August 28 at the Bouldercrest facility. However, it appears that Hogue and Chandler used their own time to escort Keegel and Wood to the facility and, therefore, did not campaign on union time.
During the August 28 campaigning, Keegel, Wood, Hogue and Chandler entered the facility and went to the break room located on one side of the facility, where they remained for about thirty minutes, meeting employees when they came to the room for their warm-up breaks. They then went to the dry storage warehouse side of the facility and spent another thirty minutes in the break room at that location, meeting with employees. According to Goddard, this access was prearranged and had management's approval.
Frank McGahee, steward on the freezer side of the CSI facility, stated he was contacted by Chandler and Hogue on the morning of August 28 and advised that "someone from the International" would be visiting the facility later that day. McGahee stated he had a grievance meeting to attend and was not present when the four - Chandler, Hogue, Keegel and Wood - visited the facility. He stated he heard, however, that they were there.
Mark Bivens, alternate steward on the freezer side, said he was present when Keegel, Wood, Chandler and Hogue visited CSI. Bivens stated the four were in the break room when he took his warm-up break. He stated they were introducing themselves and socializing with the employees. Bivens stated he did not see any campaign material in the break room and heard was no talk of the election. Bivens confirmed that "Leedham people" campaigned outside the CSI gate in either April or May.
Based on the foregoing, we GRANT the protest.
Article XI, Section 1(b)(2) bars an employer from contributing "directly or indirectly, anything of value, where the purpose, object or foreseeable effect of the contribution is to influence, positively or negatively, the election of a candidate. No candidate may accept or use any such contribution. … These prohibitions extend beyond strictly monetary contributions made by an employer and include contributions or use of employer stationery, equipment, facilities and personnel." Article XI, Section 1(b)(13) holds a candidate "strictly liable in insure that each contribution received is permitted under these Rules."
In Thompson, 2001 EAD 332 (April 30, 2001), aff'd, 01 EAM 73 (May 24, 2001), we found candidate Leedham violated the Rules by entering an employer premises to campaign. We wrote:
By accessing the inside of these employer facilities for campaigning, Leedham and his supporters indirectly appropriated a "thing of value" from the three employers. Because employer contributions -- even contributions the employer does not know it is making -- are prohibited, we find that the campaign access inside the CF, Holland Trucking and Porcelain Metals facilities violates the Rules. See Sylvester, 2001 EAD 288 (March 31, 2001).
We apply Thompson here and find campaigners Keegel, Wood, Hogue and Chandler violated the Rules when they campaigned inside the CSI facility on August 28, 2001. We further find that such campaigning was conducted with the consent of CSI management, and therefore find that CSI made an improper employer contribution to the Hoffa slate in violation of Article XI, Section 1(b)(2) of the Rules.
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.
In Thompson, we ordered the Leedham campaign to cease and desist from entering employer premises in violation of the Rules. We also ordered a notice posting on all local union worksite bulletin boards. We did the same in Leedham Slate, 2001 EAD 445 (September 10, 2001).
We do so here and direct the following remedy:
1. Hoffa slate candidates and their supporters, as well as CSI, shall cease and desist from receiving or taking any campaign contributions from any employer.
2. The notice attached hereto as Exhibit A shall be posted on all worksite bulletin boards under the jurisdiction of Local 528 for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of posting. The thirty-day posting period shall commence no later than September 26, 2001.
An order of the Election Administrator, unless otherwise stayed, takes immediate effect against a party found to be in violation of the Rules. Lopez, 96 EAM 73 (February 13, 1996).
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 464
NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS OF LOCAL 528
The Rules for the 2000-2001 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules") prohibit contributions of any thing of value from an employer or a labor organization to support the election campaign of any candidates for International officer or International convention delegate or alternate delegate.
The Election Administrator has concluded that International officer candidates on the Hoffa Unity slate improperly received an employer contribution by campaigning inside a facility of Local 528 employer CS Integrated Retail Services Atlanta, LLC ("CSI") on August 28, 2001, with the agreement of CSI.
The Election Administrator will not permit any such violation of the Rules.
The Election Administrator has ordered the Hoffa slate candidates and employer CSI to cease and desist from violating the Rules.
Any protest you have regarding your rights under the Rules or any conduct by any person or entity which violates the Rules should be filed with William A. Wertheimer, Jr., Office of the Election Administrator, 727 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington DC 20005, telephone 800-565-VOTE, fax (202) 454-1501.
William A. Wertheimer, Jr.
William A. Wertheimer, Jr.
Election Administrator
This is an official notice and must remain posted for thirty (30) consecutive days from the day of initial posting, and must not be altered, defaced or covered by any other material.
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
Hoffa Unity Slate
Todd Thompson
209 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
IBT Local 528
2540 Lakewood Ave. SW
Atlanta, GA 30315
CS Integrated Retail Services
Atlanta, LLC
One Enterprise Avenue Secaucus, NJ 07094
Kroger Company 2175 Parklake Drive, N.E. Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30345