December 11, 1995
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Matthew C. Studd
213 Bradyville Road
Woodbury, TN 37190
Re: Election Office Case No. E-014-LU327-SCE
Eligibility of Matthew C. Studd to Run for Delegate
Dear Mr. Studd:
By letter received by the Election Officer on October 13, 1995, Matthew C. Studd requested that the Election Officer determine his eligibility to run for delegate. By notice dated November 13, 1995 and received by Mr. Studd on November 22, 1995, the Election Officer ruled Mr. Studd ineligible to run for delegate. The Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”), at Article VII, Section 1(a)(1), states:
In order to be eligible to run for delegate to the International Convention, a member must be in continuous good standing with his Local Union, with his dues paid to the Local Union for a period of 24 consecutive months prior to the month of nomination with no interruption in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments.
Mr. Studd filed a timely protest to the ruling of the Election Officer, dated November 22, 1995.
The TITAN record reflects that dues for January and February were not paid until
March 10, 1995. At that time, Mr. Studd made a cash payment. Thereafter, his dues were remitted pursuant to check-off. This late payment of dues was the basis for the ruling of the Election Officer that Mr. Studd was ineligible to be a candidate for delegate to the International Convention.
Matthew C. Studd
December 11, 1995
Page 1
During the Election Officer’s initial investigation to determine Mr. Studd’s eligibility, Mr. Studd contended that he had not paid dues for January and February 1995 because of a dispute with the local union. It was Mr. Studd’s position that he had overpaid his initiation fees by $75 and he requested that this amount be applied towards his dues. On December 19, 1994, Mr. Hodgin, the local union president, wrote to Mr. Studd stating that the amount of the initiation fee was correct and denied his request to have a credit towards his January and February 1995 dues.
Following the filing of the protest to the ruling that held the protester ineligible, additional information came to the attention of the Election Officer. Prior to his present employment with Cassens Transport (“Cassens”), Mr. Studd worked for Allied Systems (“Allied”). Both companies were parties to a collective bargaining agreement with the local union and both agreements provided for check-off. Mr. Studd was terminated by Allied on November 5, 1995 and started to work for Cassens on January 3, 1995. Mr. Studd thought he should have recall rights at Allied and filed a grievance (#8-906-A) requesting those rights. This grievance was denied on or about August 9, 1995. Subsequently, Mr. Studd requested a clarification (#8-907-A) of this decision and the Hearing Panel held that Mr. Studd and one other employee should be given preferential seniority over new hires. According to the Hearing Panel, Mr. Studd should not have been treated as a new hire, for whom the employer does not check off dues. Under these circumstances, Cassens should have deducted his January and February dues from his earnings in those months if his earnings were sufficient to cover the dues.
Article X, Section 5(c) of the IBT Constitution states in pertinent part, “. . .[A] member on dues checkoff whose employer fails to make a proper deduction during any month in which the member has earnings from which the dues could have been deducted, shall not lose good standing status for that month.” The Election Officer verified that Mr. Studd's earnings in these months were sufficient for dues to be deducted.
The outcome of the grievance provides a basis for a finding regarding Mr. Studd's eligibility. Accordingly, the Election Officer holds that Mr. Studd is eligible to run for delegate to the International Convention.
In addition to seeking a determination of his status as a nominee for delegate, Mr. Studd requested that the Election Officer obtain a copy of the local union’s bylaws and also rule on his eligibility to run for local union office. Determining eligibility to run for local union office is outside the jurisdiction of the Election officer.
The protest, with respect to Mr. Studd’s eligibility to run for delegate to the International Convention, is GRANTED, and is DISMISSED in all other respects.
If any interested party is not satisfied with this determination, they may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Matthew C. Studd
December 11, 1995
Page 1
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham and Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 North Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Bruce Boyens, Regional Coordinator