IN RE: MIKE HICKS, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 110
Issued: March 2, 2006
OES Case Nos. P-06-104-020806-AT & P-06-125-020306-AT
(See also Election Appeals Master decision 06 EAM 22)
Mike Hicks, a member of Local Union 639, filed two nearly identical pre-election protests pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). Hicks alleged that the January 2006 issue of the Teamsters Local 639 newsletter constitutes a campaign contribution by the local union to the Members United slate, which is headed by Local Union 639 President Ratliff. He alleged that the timing of the publication and the content of the newsletter constituted campaign material favoring the Members United slate.
Election Supervisor representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
Two issues of the Local Union 639 newsletter have been published since the Ratliff administration first took office in January 2004. The first was published in Spring 2005. Two pages of that newsletter focused on the pending crisis in Local Union 639's health and pension plans.
The second issue was published in January 2006. Although prepared for a December publication, problems with the mail house delayed the publication a month.
The current issue of the newsletter focuses on changes made to Local 639's health fund. The newsletter is 12 pages in length. Pages 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 are devoted to the Health Fund and changes in health care and medical benefits. Page 5 is the "President's Message," which also addresses the Health Fund and the health care crisis. Page 4 contains the "Secretary-Treasurer's Message," a tribute to retired local union vice president Louis McLaughlin. Page 8 addressed the Change to Win Coalition. Page 9 gave an update on organizing at DHL, a major competitor to UPS. Page 11 addressed Weingarten rights. Pages 10 and 12 featured photos of the local union's golf tournament and picnic.
Analysis
Article VII, Section 8 (a) of the Rules prohibits use of a local union publication to support or attack any candidate, viz.
(a) No publication or communication financed, directly or indirectly, by a Union may be used to support or attack any candidate or the candidacy of any person, except as authorized by Sections 8 and 9 of this Article. A Union-financed newspaper or other publication or communication shall not:
(1) contain pictures or articles stating or indicating support of the candidacy of a particular candidate;
(2) use a larger or more attractive picture of someone than had previously been used if that person is a candidate, unless there is a valid journalistic reason for it;
(3) print uncomplimentary pictures of any candidate;
(4) print features and accompanying photographs about insignificant or unnewsworthy events in which the accomplishments or qualities of any candidate area heralded;
(5) contain pictures or articles reporting on the activities of a particular candidate where the same or similar activities of other similarly situated candidates for the same office(s) space and equal prominence; or
(6) carry a substantial number of articles and/or multiple pictures featuring a particular candidate, unless all candidates for the same position are given equal treatment, equal space and equal prominence.
The newsletter content does not violate the Rules. The newsletter was devoted to a major issue of concern to the membership, health care. Although not dispositive, we note that the newsletter's content appears to report factually on the health care plan and cannot be read as favoring positions of, or advocating for, the incumbent officers and business agents running as candidates in the delegate and alternate delegate election. For example, although the restructured health plan requires additional contributions from employers, it also requires Teamsters members to pay higher co-pays and deductibles. The newsletter articles reported both of these changes.
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 110
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
Mike Hicks
9713 Summit Circle - 2D
Largo, MD 20774
Thomas Ratliff, President
IBT Local Union 639
3100 Ames Place, NE
Washington, DC 20018
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