IN RE: HERMAN WHITE, JR., Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 104
Issued: February 27, 2006
OES Case No. P-06-071-011806-SO
(See also Election Appeals Master decision 06 EAM 15)
Herman White, Jr., a member of Local Union 270, 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"). He alleged that the local union prevented him from being nominated for delegate by barring his entry from the union hall during the nominations meeting.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
Local Union 270 conducted its nominations meeting for the delegate and alternate delegate election on January 7, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. in the second floor meeting room of its hall in New Orleans. Per the local union election plan, the local union is entitled to send three delegates and three alternate delegates to the 2006 IBT convention. Protestor White and two other members, Steve Johnson and Cassandra Richardson, traveled by auto that morning from Baton Rouge to attend the meeting and nominate White for delegate.
Investigation showed that when they arrived, White and the others found the hall locked. White knocked on the door, and local president Jim Nolan came downstairs and answered the door. White said they were there for the meeting; Nolan replied that the meeting was over and they would be downstairs shortly. White said, "Okay." Nolan then returned to the second floor meeting room.
Nolan told our investigator that the meeting started promptly at 10:00 a.m. According to the sign-in sheet, 13 members attended. The meeting was chaired by George Westley, past president of the local union. Westley read the appropriate script to commence the meeting and then opened the floor for nominations for delegate. Three members were nominated and seconded for delegate; all accepted. Westley then called three times from the podium for any more nominations for delegate. None were made, and Westley then closed the floor for delegate nominations. He then opened the floor for alternate delegate nominations. Again, three members were nominated and seconded; all accepted. Westley followed the same procedure to call for additional nominations. None were made, and he closed the nominations for alternate delegate. The nominations meeting then concluded.
Nolan then asked all members who were not nominated for delegate or alternate delegate to leave the hall and the candidates to remain to fill out the necessary forms. Donald Burdett told our investigator that he was not nominated at the meeting, so he left the hall when Nolan asked the non-candidates to leave. Burdett said he did not see anyone outside the meeting room, outside the door to the hall, or in the parking lot when he left.
Protestor White told our investigator that his party indeed was late to the meeting, although he believed they were only 15 minutes late. On arrival, he said that they could not gain access to the hall because the doors were locked. When he knocked, Nolan came to the door and told the three that they would be finished in a few minutes. Nolan then returned to the meeting room. White told our investigator that he did not say he was present for the nomination meeting or to be nominated.
David Negrotto, local union vice president, was nominated for delegate. He remained following the nominations meeting to fill out candidate forms. He told our investigator that White, Johnson and Richardson came to the door while he and the other candidates were filling out forms. Johnson, one of Negrotto's stewards from Baton Rouge, asked to speak with Negrotto. After Negrotto finished his nominations paperwork, he spoke with Johnson for some time about union business. During this conversation, Johnson said that he, White and Richardson had come down for the nominations meeting but ran late and got into heavy traffic. Negrotto said that none of the three mentioned that they had come to the meeting to nominate anyone.
Johnson corroborated Negrotto's account. In particular, Johnson stated that they were late to the meeting, although he believed they arrived by 10:15 a.m. He further agreed that he spoke to Negrotto about union business but did not say they had come to nominate White; Johnson figured it was White's place to raise that issue if he chose. Johnson added that White was privately upset that he was not nominated. However, Johnson further stated that White did not say anything about it to anyone.
Richardson, the third member of White's party, agreed they arrived at about 10:15 a.m. for the meeting. She said she asked someone if the nominations meeting was over and was told it was. She told our investigator she could not remember if anyone said they were there to nominate White.
Although the nominations meeting was held January 6, White did not file this protest until January 17. He told our investigator he did not file a protest sooner because he wanted to think about it first.
Analysis
Article II, Section 5(e) of the Rules requires each local union to conduct a nominations meeting and to give advance written notice of the date, time and place of that meeting. Local Union 270 complied with these requirements and commenced the meeting at the appointed time. White missed the meeting because he arrived at the hall after it had concluded. The local union did not cause or contribute to the circumstances that prevented White's timely appearance at the meeting. Accordingly, we DENY this protest.
A further basis for denying the protest is that it was untimely filed. Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules requires protests to be filed within two working days of the date the protestor became aware of the alleged violation. This time limit is prudential, not jurisdictional. However, no justification has been presented here for delaying the filing by a week. Accordingly, we hold the protest untimely filed as well.
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
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
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
2006 ESD 104
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001-2198
braymond@teamster.org
Sarah Riger, Staff Attorney
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001-2198
sriger@teamster.org
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
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210
ken@tdu.org
Judith Brown Chomsky
P.O. Box 29726
Elkins Park, PA 19027
jchomsky@igc.org
Stephen Ostrach
1863 Pioneer Parkway East, #217
Springfield, OR 97477-3907
saostrach@gmail.com
Herman White, Jr.
1900 Blount Road #219
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Jim Nolan, President
Local 270
P.O. Box 3398
New Orleans, LA 70177
Dolores C. Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
hall1000@cox.net
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com