Protest Decisions

ELECTION APPEALS MASTER

FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS

            Protest Decision 2021 ESD 73, which addresses a pre-election protest filed by Derek Correia and Genaro Ventura was issued on March 5, 2021 (OES Case No. P-089-022621-FW) by the Election Supervisor.  The protest alleged that Local Union 542 posted the results of its delegate nominations meeting one day beyond the time limit prescribed by the Rules for the 2020-2021 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (the “Rules”).    

On March 5th, the Office of Election Supervisor denied the protest finding, in part, that the protestors were neither prejudiced nor harmed by the late posting.   On March 7, 2021, Mr. Correia and Mr. Ventura appealed the decision.  On March 8, 2021, by Notice of Hearing, the Election Appeals Master scheduled a telephonic hearing for March 10, 2021. 

On March 9, 2021, the Office of Election Supervisor submitted supplemental written argument in support of its position.            

A telephonic hearing was held on March 10, 2021.  The following individuals attended the hearing:  Jeffrey J. Ellison, Esq., and Michael Miller on behalf of the Office of the Election Supervisor; Derek Correia and Genaro Ventura, delegate candidates on behalf of the “Members for Members 542” slate; Shelly Allsup, Business Agent for Local 542; and Jamie Vasquez, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 542 and delegate candidate for the “Teamsters 542 Members First” slate.

Decision of the Election Appeals Master

            On February 16, 2021, Local 542 held its nominations meeting to determine which members would run for delegate and alternate delegate positions in the upcoming election.  At the meeting, Mr. Correia and Mr. Ventura, members of Local 542, were nominated to run as delegates on the “Members for Members 542” slate.  The competing “Teamster 542 Members First” slate also nominated delegates and alternate delegates for the upcoming election.   

Once the list of candidates became known, the Local Union’s Secretary-Treasurer was required to post on all union bulletin boards a list of all nominated candidates, by name (and by slate affiliation, if known at the time) as soon as possible, but not later than five (5) days following the nomination meeting.  See Article II, Section 6(a).  In the instant case, however, the time limit to post the notice began to run on February 19, 2021, when “Members for Members 542” eventually filed a valid slate declaration with the Election Supervisor.

As a result, the nominations for both slates should have been displayed on Local 542’s bulletin boards no later than February 24, 2020.  However, due to health concerns of the Business Agent tasked with posting the results, the information was not displayed until the evening of February 25, 2020.  Protestors claim that they were harmed by the one-day delay because local union members had not been made aware that their slate intended to campaign in Local 542’s upcoming delegates election.   

            To determine whether a Rules violation occurred in this matter, the evidence must demonstrate that the protestors suffered some form of prejudice to their campaign as a result of the late posting.  See LeFevre, 2001 EAD 301 (April 12, 2001); see also Wenham, 2001 EAD 221 (March 7, 2001) (protest denied even though the notice of nominations meeting results posted 8 days late).  Here, there is no such evidence.      

Both campaigns were impacted by the late posting equally and neither side gained an advantage over the other.  Nor was there any evidence that the late posting was the result of bad faith or political animus toward the Protestor’s slate.  In fact, Protestors explained at the hearing that they actively campaigned at the facility where they worked and had the opportunity to inform members that they were running in the upcoming delegates election.  See Young, P426 (March 29, 1996) (protest denied because late posting did not prevent campaign from informing members of the election and distributing campaign material at worksite).

            Accordingly, the Election Supervisor’s decision is AFFIRMED.

SO ORDERED,

Hon. Barbara S. Jones (Ret.)

Election Appeals Master

 DATED:         March 15, 2021



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