March 8, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Pat Miraglio, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 439
1531 E. Fremont Street
Stockton, CA 95201
Steven Jones
P.O. Box 1294
Woodbridge, CA 95258
Re: Election Office Case No. E-112-LU439-EOH
Gentlemen:
Pat Miraglio, secretary-treasurer of Local Union 439, protested the eligibility of Steven Jones. Mr. Jones was nominated on February 16, 1996 to run for delegate from Local
Union 439 to the International Convention. The protester alleges that Mr. Jones is ineligible because he paid his January 1995 dues in February 1995 and, therefore, was not a member in good standing, as required by the Rules for the IBT 1995-1996 International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).
Article VII, Section 1(a) of the Rules provides:
To be eligible to run for any Convention delegate, alternate delegate or International Officer position, one must:
Pat Miraglio
March 8, 1996
Page 1
(1) Be a member in continuous good standing of the Local Union, with one’s dues paid to the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination for said position with no interruptions in active membership due to suspensions, expulsions, withdrawals, transfers or failure to pay fines or assessments;
(2) Be employed at the craft within the jurisdiction of the Local Union for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination; and
(3) Be eligible to hold office if elected.
Mr. Jones requested verification of his eligibility prior to his nomination. On
February 14, 1996, after investigation, the Election Officer found Mr. Jones eligible.
Mr. Jones is a quarterly dues payer. An examination of his TITAN record reveals that the payment due by the last business day in January 1995 was not received until February 1995. Mr. Jones contends that he did, in fact, make his dues payment in January, that TITAN was down, and that he did not receive any receipt. Although hand-written receipts are customarily issued whenever TITAN is down, a Local 439 cashier stated that she would not “dispute the story” because no late fee was charged to Mr. Jones’ account.
Circumstantial evidence corroborates that Mr. Jones’ initial quarterly payment was paid on time. Mr. Jones states that when he realized that he had no receipt, he contacted the local union and was told that they had lost his check. Because his original check was never located, Mr. Jones sent another check to Local 439 to cover his first quarterly payment of 1995.
As a result, the Election Officer finds on the evidence presented that Mr. Jones has maintained 24 months of continuous good standing with regard to his payment of dues prior to his nomination, as required by the Rules. Accordingly, it is the determination of the Election Officer that Mr. Jones is eligible to run for delegate to the International convention.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination 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:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Pat Miraglio
March 8, 1996
Page 1
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, D.C. 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
Merliene Bendixen, Regional Coordinator