IN RE: DENNIS KOSUTH,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 503
Issued: October 12, 2001
OEA Case No. PR100912MW
Dennis Kosuth, a member of Local 705, 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"). Kosuth alleges that Local 705 principal officer Jerry Zero violated the Rules by sending a letter supporting IBT General President James P. Hoffa's reelection bid to all local union members on letterhead "designed to imitate and appear to be Local 705 letterhead."
Election Administrator representative Jason Weidenfeld investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
In early October 2001, Zero sent a letter to the Local 705 membership explaining why he and the other Local 705 executive board members are supporting Hoffa's candidacy. The letter contained the heading "A Message from Jerry Zero" in bold, large print and "Teamsters Local 705 Secretary-Treasurer" directly below in large print. Directly underneath the heading is a slogan sandwiched between two single lines, "Employ Union Labor - Invest in the Best." In the left margin at the top of the page is a logo very similar to the IBT's, but it states "Jerry Zero Committee for Teamster Reform: Fighting for Our Future" and contains no reference to the IBT or the AFL-CIO. Lower on the left-hand side are the names and titles of the Local 705 executive board members. Directly below this list is a parenthetical: "(Titles are for identification purposes only)". The bottom of the first page contains a disclaimer in small, but legible, print indicating that no union funds were expended on the mailing, which was "paid for entirely by the Committee."
The format of the letter and Local 705's ordinary letterhead are similar, though certainly not identical. First, both letterheads contain the slogan, "Employ Union Labor - Invest in the Best." Second, the letters have a similar-style logo near the top of the page. Third, both letters list Local 705 executive board members and their titles in the left margin. Fourth, each letterhead has a statement near the top sandwiched between two single lines.
The letterheads have many differences as well. First, Local 705 letterhead does not state that executive board members' titles have been provided solely for identification purposes. Second, local union letterhead does not state that no local union funds were used in printing or distributing correspondence. Third, the aforementioned slogan is located on the bottom of the regular letterhead but near the top of the campaign letter. Fourth, the local union's letterhead states, "Teamsters Local Union 705" in a large, italicized font and has information about the makeup of the local's membership, its affiliation with the AFL-CIO, and its address. Fifth, the local union letterhead's header and footer fonts differ from the fonts in Zero's message. Sixth, the local union letterhead has a large, visible IBT logo in the background in the middle of the page; Zero's letter contains no such marking. Seventh, the logo on Local 705's letterhead states "International Brotherhood of Teamsters" and "AFL-CIO" and contains no reference to the Jerry Zero Committee for Teamster Reform.
Based on the numerous significant differences between Local 705's letterhead and the letterhead used in Zero's message, including the disclaimers in his message, we find that a reasonable Local 705 member would not mistake the stationery used in Zero's message for Local 705's stationery.
We easily distinguish this case from our decisions involving the use of stationery in a manner that implies official union endorsement. For example, in Dzilenski, 01 EAM 90 (September 28, 2001), affirming Dzilenski, 2001 EAD 462 (September 20, 2001), the Election Appeals Master held that "precedent and logic" supported our finding that a Hoffa campaign-funded flyer "without any indication of its political origin or sponsorship" violated the Rules by "trad[ing] on the prestige of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters." Similarly, in Thompson, 2001 EAD 430 (August 24, 2001), we held that an IBT International officer candidate could not endorse himself in a self-funded steward publication that ordinarily concerns official union business because the self-endorsement created the impression that the candidate was acting in his official union capacity.
Zero's letter creates no such misimpressions. Unlike in Dzilenski, supra, Zero's message is obviously political. Furthermore, as described in detail above, the letterhead of the campaign letter is plainly distinguishable from Local 705's regular letterhead. Zero's campaign message also informs the membership that no local union funds were used in the letter's production and distribution. Moreover, the letter indicates that the executive board members' titles are provided for identification purposes only. Given these facts, we find that Zero's letter does not create the impression that it is an official Local 705 correspondence.
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 503
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
3060 Penobscot Building
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 Lane
Eugene, OR 97404
Todd Thompson
209 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
Dennis Kosuth
3154 S. Aberdeen St.
Garden Apartment
Chicago, IL 60608
Dennis Kosuth
3254 S. Aberdeen St.
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
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207