IN RE: RICHARD DE VRIES,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 478
Issued: September 28, 2001
OEA Case No. PR080611MW
Richard de Vries, a member of Local 705 and supporter of IBT General President candidate Tom Leedham, 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"). De Vries alleges that Local 705 secretary-treasurer Gerald Zero violated Article VII, Section 11 of the Rules by terminating him as a business representative of Local 705 in retaliation for his support of Leedham.
Election Administrator representative Jason Weidenfeld investigated the protest.
Zero appointed de Vries as a business representative approximately seven years ago. Zero terminated de Vries in a letter dated August 3, 2001. The letter lacked any specific reason for the discharge. In a written statement, Zero claims several reasons for the discharge:
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de Vries engaged in illegal picketing resulting in costly legal battles for Local 705; |
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de Vries did not perform well as a business representative in the moving division recently and contracts over the last year were not moving forward; |
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de Vries failed to respond to new assignments properly, specifically by not contacting stewards and members at certain locations; |
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On Monday, July 30, 2001, at a worksite that employs Local 705 members represented by de Vries, he indicated publicly, in the presence of a non-officer member, that another member's grievance would not be pursued because Tom Nightwine, the chair of the grievance panel, would not support it; and |
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The next day, July 31, 2001, while campaigning at Roadway, de Vries told members whom he does not represent that they should see him regarding problems because he has friends in Springfield, the state capital. De Vries handed his business card to some members, even though he had been warned previously not to represent members where he was not assigned. |
The written statement concludes with the following paragraph:
These [last] two incidents were the final nails for de Vries. Gerald Zero decided to terminate him. Having told him before that he was on thin ice, having transferred his assignments because of poor performance, having warned him about failing to contact his barns, Gerald Zero finally had enough of Richard de Vries. In particular, de Vries's intolerable statement about the manner in which Local 705 processes grievances infuriated Gerald Zero.
We have extensively investigated this protest, including de Vries' claims regarding the cited reasons for his termination and his claim that they are a pretext for what he asserts was the real reason for his discharge: his support of Tom Leedham. We have also examined in depth the evidence offered by Local 705 in defense of this protest.
We have, however, determined that here it is appropriate to defer decision on the merits of this protest until the final resolution of a grievance protesting de Vries' termination that is now being processed by his collective bargaining representative, the United Mine Workers ("UMW"), under their March 20, 2001 collective bargaining agreement with Local 705. Resolution of that grievance will require decision making on a number of the same factual disputes that would have to be resolved to decide this protest on its merits. In our view, such factual disputes are more properly resolved in the first instance in the negotiated grievance and arbitration procedure. Accordingly, as we have in the past, cf. Ostrach, 2001 EAD 121 (February 1, 2001), Hoffa Slate, 2001 EAD 204 (March 1, 2001), Ostrach, 2001 EAD 365 (May 11, 2001), Hoffa Slate, 2001 EAD 370 (May 16, 2001), Williams, 2001 EAD 405 (July 5, 2001), we DEFER resolution of this matter to the Local 705-UMW grievance and arbitration procedure. In doing so, we note that under prior election rules precedent, where deferral occurs the Election Administrator is not bound by the court's or arbitrator's decision or by any findings of fact or conclusions of law made. Golubovic, P25 (July 21, 1995); Henderson, P760 (September 9, 1991), aff'd, 91 EAM 187 (September 18, 1991), aff'd, U.S. vs. IBT, 777 F.Supp. 144 (S.D.N.Y. 1991), aff'd, 954 F.2d 801 (2d Cir. 1992). Once the grievance is resolved, we will provide the parties with an opportunity to urge either that we adopt or not adopt that resolution as the basis for resolving this protest, and to present any evidence they have in support of that position.[1]
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 478
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
209 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Richard de Vries
1852 South Allport Street
Chicago, IL 60608
IBT Local 705
1645 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60612
Gerald Zero
IBT Local 705
1645 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60612
Jerry Butler
District 12, United Mine Workers
3695 S. 6th Street
Springfield, IL 62703
[1] As in Ostrach, 2001 EAD 121 (February 1, 2001), we reserve the right to revoke our deferral and issue a decision on the merits at any time. Any unreasonable delay in the resolution of this matter through the grievance procedure will be cause for revocation of deferral.