IN RE: HOFFA 2006, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2005 ESD 44
Issued: December 30, 2005
OES Case No. P-05-033-111605-SO
Hoffa 2006 filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). It alleged that retirees circulated accreditation petitions in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
The protest alleged that a posting on TDU's website encouraged retirees to "help" in soliciting signatures on accreditation petitions. The protest further claimed that "retirees from Local 667 have been soliciting signatures at Local 667 worksites in violation of the Rules."
Investigation showed that TDU's website contained a posting about the accreditation petition drive of the Leedham campaign. It read in part as follows:
Teamster members across North America have launched a petition drive to officially qualify the Tom Leedham Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Slate as candidates in the 2006 Teamsters Election. To succeed, we have to collect 50,000 Teamster signatures by December 9.
The accreditation petition is part of the official election process. It will give members a choice in the election: the Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Slate will have the right [to] put materials into the Teamster Magazine and on the IBT website, and it will provide the Leedham slate with access to the Teamster membership list for delegate races and the election campaign.
The posting stated that "[r]etirees can help, but current Teamsters have to witness the petition signing and sign the bottom portion of the petition."
Investigation further showed that Willie Hardy, a Local Union 667 retiree, campaigned at a Roadway facility in support of the accreditation petition drive. Richard Shew, a Roadway steward, told our investigator that he saw Hardy on the dock at Roadway in mid-November carrying a clipboard. Shew did not see what was attached to the clipboard and specifically denied seeing an accreditation petition. Further, Shew told our investigator that Hardy did not ask Shew or anyone in Shew's presence to sign a petition. Shew told our investigator that he would attempt to identify any Roadway employee who had signed a petition held by Hardy. Shew was unable to do so.
Hardy told our investigator that he accompanied Louis Armstrong, a member in good standing, to Roadway on November 13. Hardy stated that he was aware of the provision requiring that only members in good standing may circulate accreditation petitions, so he did not handle the petitions. However, he campaigned for Leedham at the facility and asked members to sign the Leedham accreditation petitions that Armstrong had. Hardy denied that he possessed or certified the accreditation petitions, and our investigation shows no petitions bearing Hardy's name or signature were submitted.
Armstrong corroborated Hardy's account. Armstrong stated that Hardy, a former Roadway employee and International representative, is well known at Roadway. According to Armstrong, Hardy "is a good man to have with you," explaining his belief that members would be more likely to sign the petitions if Hardy asked than if Armstrong were working alone.
Hardy is not an employer.
Analysis
Article X, Section 2(a) states that accreditation petitions "may only be circulated by a member in good standing." The petition form contains a certification section that "must be signed and dated by the person who circulating the petition." The certification affirms that the circulator is "a member in good standing" and that "the signatures on this sheet were signed in my presence and [are] genuine."
Article XI, Section 1(b)(10) provides:
Nothing herein shall prohibit the donation of services by an individual, who is not an employer, to a candidate rendered on the individual's personal free time without compensation in any form by an employer or labor organization and without accompanying contributions of supplies or of services of others who are compensated by an employer or labor organization for such services.
The protestor has presented no evidence, and we have found none, that establishes that Willie Hardy circulated accreditation petitions in violation of the Rules. Hardy, even though a non-member retiree, is permitted to campaign for or against any candidate, provided he is not an employer and campaigns on his "personal free time." Solicitation of accreditation signatures constitutes campaigning under the Rules. Hardy is not an employer, and his activity, therefore, is protected.
Accordingly, 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 Supervisor 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 the parties, as well as upon the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 1725 K Street, N.W., Suite 1400, Washington, D.C. 20007-5135, all within the time prescribed above. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Kenneth Conboy
2005 ESD 44
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Patrick J. Szymanski
General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
pszymanski@teamster.org
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond, Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway
Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
braymond@fwslaw.com
David J. Hoffa, Esq.
Hoffa 2006
30300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 324
Farmington Hills, MI 48834
David@hoffapllc.com
Barbara Harvey
645 Griswold Street
Suite 3060
Detroit, MI 48226
barbaraharvey@comcast.net
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210
ken@tdu.org
Stefan Ostrach
1863 Pioneer Parkway East, #217
Springfield, OR 97477-3907
saostrach@gmail.com
Judith Brown Chomsky
P.O. Box 29726
Elkins Park, PA 19027
jchomsky@igc.org
Todd Thompson
Hoffa 2006
28580 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 250
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Hoffa2006@nextel.blackberry.net
Willie Hardy
137 Sullivan Cove
Memphis, TN 38109
Henry Perry, President
IBT Local Union 667
796 East Brooks Avenue
Memphis, TN 38116
Dolores C. Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
Hall1000@bellsouth.net
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com