IN RE: PETER LANDON,
Protest Decision 2001 EAD 541
Issued: November 5, 2001
OEA Case No. PR102612MI
Peter Landon, a member of Local 299, 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 & File Power slate ("Leedham slate") and Local 372 member Dennis Nazelli. The protest alleges that Nazelli used a membership list provided by the Leedham slate in the local's officer election.
Election Administrator representative Nancy Golen investigated the protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Under Article VII, Section 3, the Leedham slate, consisting of accredited and nominated candidates for International office, is periodically supplied with complete membership lists of the IBT. That section declares "[n]o membership list may be used for any purpose other than advancing the accredited or nominated candidate's campaign for nomination and/or election."
Nazelli, a supporter of the Leedham slate, swore in an affidavit in a form provided by the Election Administrator that use of that list in a campaign for local union convention delegate candidates who supported the Leedham slate would not be extended to any other use, such as in Local 372 officer elections. See Hoffa Slate, 2001 EAD 502 (October 12, 2001). Nazelli's use of the Leedham slate membership list was the subject of an earlier decision in Derey, 2001 EAD 233 (March 12, 2001), where we denied a protest alleging misuse.
Nazelli did use a membership list to campaign later in this year for local union office. He states that the list he used was one that he compiled himself during his time working on the lengthy Detroit newspaper strike and as a picket captain.
The protestor stated that he did not believe that Nazelli was using a list obtained through the Leedham slate for his local union election campaign.
Al Derey and Dennis Romanowski, opposing candidates to Nazelli in the local union election, have offered no evidence that the membership list used by Nazelli was improperly obtained. Derey says that some evidence may come to light in a scheduled internal union hearing on the Local 372 officer election, but offered no such evidence to our investigator.
We find no evidence of misuse of an International officer membership list obtained under Article VII, Section 3 and accordingly 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 541
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
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 299
2741 Trumbull Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
IBT Local 372
2741 Trumbull Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
Dennis Nazelli
19785 Purling Brook
Livonia, MI 48152
Alfred Derey
IBT Local 372
2741 Trumbull Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
Dennis Romanowski
IBT Local 372
2741 Trumbull Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
Peter Landon
1451 Clark Street
Detroit, MI 48209
Nancy Golen
P.O. Box 577211
Chicago, IL 60657