IN RE: DOUGLAS HENDERSON,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 533
Issued: October 31, 2001
OEA Case Nos. PR101217WE
Douglas Henderson, a member of Local 760 and a supporter of the Hoffa Unity slate ("Hoffa 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") against the Tom Leedham Rank and File Power slate ("Leedham slate"), Leedham slate candidate Bob Hasegawa, and IBT members Mike Brannan, Miguel Gomez, Richard Foulkes and Kirk Stephenson. He alleges interference with his rights under the Rules.
Election Administrator representative Dolores Hall investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Henderson alleges that he attempted to attend a Leedham slate benefit held at the Catholic Seaman's Club in Seattle on October 7, 2001 by the Northwest Teamster Women's Action Team, but was prevented from doing so in violation of the Rules. He claims that his car was surrounded by Leedham supporters and he was prevented from driving away because of it. He further claims that the group blocked the street and the sidewalk and that IBT members Mary Stuart, Rachel McKibbin and Paula Bennett were prevented from entering the building because of the demonstration.
Henderson says he arrived at the hall at about 2:30 or 3:00 because parking is at a premium in that location. He stated the meeting, which was open to the public, was scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. Henderson says he was sitting in his car, reading literature and listening to a baseball game, while awaiting 4:00 p.m. when he intended to go upstairs and hear Ashley McNeely. Before he could do so, he says that a number of persons, including those who are the subject of his protest, began marching around his car. He says he was intimidated by this conduct and was prevented from leaving.
Hasegawa attended and spoke at the event. He says that Henderson was sitting in his car outside the event spying on those who were attending. Hasegawa concedes there was a demonstration against Henderson and states that it was not one person's idea to demonstrate, but rather a collective response to the fact that Henderson was there spying on people. Hasegawa claims that the sidewalk was not blocked and that Henderson was very calm during the demonstration.
Brannan told our investigator that Henderson was parked in front of the building for at least an hour before the demonstration took place. He says that from upstairs he looked down on Henderson's vehicle and he had a pad on which he was writing. Brannan says Henderson's presence there was an attempt to intimidate the people attending the event, which he claimed is an old trick "these people" use to put fear into the members. Brannan said the group of Leedham supporters was upstairs watching Henderson and joking about his presence, and that they decided to let him know they were not going to be intimidated. He said that, in a joking manner, they took TDU and Leedham signs and chanted around his vehicle. He claims the demonstration lasted two to three minutes and was "lighthearted," with the demonstrators calling out "Hi, Doug, how ya doin'?" Brannan says there were two or three women who came in after the demonstration and a lot of people talked to them because they were new and no one knew them. He says no one stopped them from joining the meeting, and that they stayed a little while and then left. Brannan says that Henderson was smiling throughout the demonstration and that he made no attempt to drive away and could have had he chosen to do so.
Gomez says he arrived at the event at about 3:00 p.m. and could not find a parking spot, and that he noticed Henderson's vehicle, with its Hoffa bumper stickers, while he was looking for a place to park. Gomez agrees with Brannan's claims concerning the manner in which the demonstration was initiated. Gomez says about 12 attendees demonstrated around Henderson's car. He says Henderson had the motor turned off and never made any attempt to start the car to drive off. Gomez denies the group was blocking the sidewalk, preventing people from entering the event. He says he saw two women enter the building where the event occurred while the demonstration was happening. He identified one of these two women as Rachel McKibbin, an employee of Local 524. He saw the two go upstairs to the event, where they talked to a few people, looked around and left after 10-15 minutes.
Foulkes, a member of Local 741, saw Henderson in his vehicle and says he believed Henderson was surveilling the building. Foulkes stated Henderson's vehicle sported Hoffa stickers and he went over and invited Henderson upstairs, telling him he might learn something new about Hoffa, but that Henderson declined. Foulkes says he carried a Leedham sign during the demonstration that is the subject of this protest. Foulkes says Henderson was smiling and waving while the demonstration was in progress and did not appear intimidated. Foulkes also stated he is acquainted with Mary Stuart and, while he saw her on the sidewalk while the demonstration was in progress, he did not see her in the hall. He denied that she was prevented from entering the hall. Foulkes stated the purpose of the demonstration was to show Henderson they were not intimidated by his presence.
Stephenson, president of Local 763, says that as people were arriving at the hall, they kept saying there was someone parked in front of the building with a Hoffa sticker on his car and they were asking who he was. Stephenson went downstairs for a smoke and recognized Henderson. He says that when he returned to the event, he told the attendees who Henderson was, and that people told him they were getting nervous about the fact that he was down there writing down the names of people who were attending the function. Stephenson said he looked down from the second floor and you could see that was what Henderson was doing. Stephenson says that people inside the hall wanted to show Henderson they would not be intimidated by his presence and they decided to "have some fun with him." He said people grabbed signs and literature and he grabbed the TDU banner and held one side and Hasegawa held the other side and they went downstairs to walk around Henderson's car. Stephenson says approximately twelve people demonstrated, and he denies they were blocking the sidewalk or that they prevented anyone from entering the building. He says three women went into the hall while they were demonstrating.
Our investigator interviewed numerous others who attended the function, including two of the three women cited by Henderson in his protest as having been prevented by the demonstration from attending the event. Mary Stuart, a Local 741 trustee, stated that Henderson had Hoffa stickers on his vehicle and that he was parked in front of the hall when she, McKibbin and Bennett arrived. She says they did not go upstairs to the meeting when they arrived because the descent of the Leedham demonstrators blocked the stairs. The three women then watched the demonstration from the sidewalk, and when the demonstration was over, McKibbin and Bennett went upstairs while Stuart stayed downstairs with Henderson. Stuart says she did not go upstairs because a couple of people who were there recognized her, and that she waited with Henderson for approximately 15 minutes until McKibbin and Bennett returned from upstairs and reported to Henderson about was going on at the event. They then left, and said Henderson was still there when they did so. They do not know how long Henderson stayed after they left, but he stayed there after the demonstration ended.
We do not credit Henderson's claim that he was intimidated by the demonstration and could not leave. Based on the testimony of the above witnesses, including his own, he not only did not start his vehicle and attempt to leave while the demonstration was in progress, but he remained in front of the building for at least an additional 15-20 minutes after the demonstration was over, awaiting the report of the two women who went upstairs. We also do not find that the Leedham demonstrators prevented either Henderson or Stuart, Bennett and McKibbin from attending the event.
Based on the foregoing, 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 533
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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
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Korney & Heldt
30700 Telegraph Road
Suite 1551
Bingham Farms, MI 48025
Barbara Harvey
Penobscot Building
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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
Matt Ginsburg
30 Third Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11271
James L. Hicks, Jr., P.C.
Suite 1100
2777 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75207
IBT Local 174
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Joint Council 28
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
The Catholic Seaman's Club
2330 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
Bob Hasegawa
3121 16th Ave. South
Seattle, WA 98144
Ashley McNeely
P.O. Box 23224
Honolulu, HI 96823
Douglas Henderson
8639 11th Ave. SW
Seattle, WA 98106
IBT Local 741
552 Denny Way
Seattle, WA 98109
Mike Brannan
6568 Fourth Ave. NE
#27
Seattle, WA 98115
Miguel Gomez
P.O. Box 1237
Bothel, WA 98041
Richard Foulkes
P.O. Box 2147
Vashon Island, WA 98071
Kirk Stephenson
332 N. 102nd Street
Seattle, WA 98133
IBT Local 763
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Dolores Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001