IN RE: TYLER BUCKNER, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 108
Issued: February 27, 2006
OES Case No. P-06-142-021406-AT
Tyler Buckner, a member of Local Union 391, 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 asserted that the local union had excessive bad addresses on its membership list and that the local, through its officers, was unwilling to correct the problem.
Election Supervisor representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
The protest alleged that Local Union 391 had an extremely high number of bad addresses during the local union's officer and business agent election conducted in October 2005. This allegation was based on anecdotal evidence from a candidate in that election, who told Buckner that more than one-half of his campaign literature had been returned as undeliverable. Buckner was concerned that the local union might have two mailing lists - a good mailing list they used for supporters of the incumbents and a bad mailing list they used for mailing opposition campaign literature. He had no evidence to substantiate his concern.
Jack Cipriani, the local union president, denied having two mailing lists and stated that all mailings lists came directly from the TITAN system. The local union's administrative assistant, Stormy Fields, provided a summary of the local union's efforts to correct bad addresses beginning in July 2005 and continuing through February 2006. She also provided TITAN reports to verify her summary.
Local Union 391 has approximately 7,300 members. On July 29, 2005, the local union ran a TITAN incorrect address report and determined there were 706 bad addresses. Business agents worked to correct the bad addresses and, on August 26, 2005, a second report found that they were reduced to 636. The officer and business agent election was a 5-day walk-in election, with ballots mailed only to members who lived a significant distance from one of the three local union offices that served as election sites. The local union attempted to find correct addresses for any ballots returned during the officer election.
The nomination notices for the delegate and alternate delegate election were mailed on December 19, 2005 and 320 were returned with incorrect addresses. The local union was able to correct 109 addresses and re-mail 109 of those notices.
On February 9, 2006, two incorrect address reports were run. The first showed 496 incorrect addresses. 155 addresses were corrected with information from Central States, and the second report showed the total was reduced to 341.
7,538 ballots were mailed February 15, 2006. As of February 21, 21 ballots had been returned as not deliverable.
Analysis
Article II, Section 4(a) of the Rules requires that a local union submit a proposed Local Union Plan for approval by the Election Supervisor. The plan requires the local union to explain the efforts it will make to correct incorrect addresses prior to mailing ballots. In its plan, Local Union 391 stated it would work with business agents, employers and benefit plans to correct addresses. No member commented on or challenged the local union's plan to correct incorrect addresses.
Between July 2005 and February 2006, Local Union 391 corrected a significant number of incorrect addresses by following the procedures stated in its Local Union Plan.
Accordingly, we DENY this 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
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 108
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
Tyler Buckner
114 Kizer Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030-1828
Claude Gray, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local 391
P.O. Box 35405
Greensboro, NC 27425
Marilyn Falik
Election Services Corporation
990 Stewart Avenue, Suite 500
Garden City, NY 11530
J. Griffin "Griff" Morgan
Elliot, Pishko, Morgan
426 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
jgmorgan@epmlaw.com
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com