IN RE: GARY WATTS, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 146
Issued: March 17, 2006
OES Case No. P-06-118-020106-FW
Gary Watts, a member and delegate candidate of Local Union 399, 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"). The protest alleged that the Union refused to allow the protestor to post campaign literature on the glass wall of the "call board" office. It also asserted that the local union was designated to receive fewer delegates than permitted by the IBT constitution. Finally, the protest asked whether the IBT logo may permissibly be used in campaign material.
Election Supervisor representative Michael D. Four investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
The local union election plan we approved on October 20, 2005 stated that the front lobby counter of Local Union 399's hall would be used as a literature table for the election.
Protestor Watts sought to post campaign literature on the glass wall of the call board office at the local union hall but his request was denied by the local union. According to Watts, he was told that a portion of the counter in the front lobby of the building had been designated as the literature table. Watts contends that the call board office has more foot traffic than the front lobby. He also claims that the call board office glass has been used in the past for official union business notices, formal notices of the current IBT election, and, importantly, in the current election cycle for posting of a Hoffa accreditation petition. The protestor thus claims that there is an established practice for posting of partisan campaign material in that area.
According to Secretary-Treasurer Leo Reed, Local 399 election supervisor Carol Stepp, and Joe Kaplan, the attorney for Local 399, the front lobby has much more visibility and traffic than the call board office. All three assert that most members enter the building through the lobby to conduct their union business. In addition, they claim that, contrary to the Watts' assertion, neither the Hoffa petition nor any other partisan campaign material has ever been posted on the glass in the call board office. They acknowledge that, in current and past elections, formal notices of election and other required affidavits have been posted on the glass, but that the same notices and affidavits have also been posted simultaneously in the lobby.
Our investigation found no other evidence that the Hoffa accreditation petition was posted on the glass of the call board office.
On these facts, we DENY this aspect of the protest. Article VII, Section 12(d) of the Rules prohibits restrictions on candidates' or members' "preexisting rights to use … Union bulletin boards for campaign publicity." While we accept that a glass wall may meet the definition of "bulletin board" as used in this provision, we find insufficient evidence to establish that partisan campaign material has been posted on the call board glass previously. Accordingly, we can find no preexisting right that has been restricted in this case.
Further, Article VII, Section (7)(h) provides that "each Local Union must establish a literature table and/or bulletin board in a public area of each Local Union facility which is open to members for the nondiscriminatory distribution/display of campaign literature for the 2006 IBT International Union Officer Election." The rule does not require that the location be in the highest traffic area of the local union office, nor does it give the candidate the right to choose the location. Our investigation showed that the counter in the lobby satisfies the "public area" requirement in the rule and, indeed, was a high traffic area. Moreover, the local union acted in accord with the approved election plan, which designated the counter in the lobby area as the required literature table.
The protestor further alleged that Local Union 399 is being denied its proper representation of delegates to the 2006 IBT Convention. Investigation showed that the local union's average membership over the 24 months from Dec 1, 2002 to Nov 30, 2004 was 3,846. The formula set forth in Article III, Section 2 of the IBT constitution has awarded Local Union 399 a complement of five delegates to the 2006 IBT Convention. Under that formula, one delegate is awarded for the first 1,000 members. An additional delegate is awarded for each additional 750 members or major fraction thereof. Under this formulation, the local union's membership grants it a delegation of five. Accordingly, we DENY this aspect of the protest.
The protestor further questions whether the IBT logo may permissibly be used on campaign material. It may. Article XI, Section 1(b)(6) states that use of IBT "insignia or mark," including its official horses and wheel logo, is permitted. See also Brazeau, 2001 EAD 316 (April 18, 2001); Lyons, 2006 ESD 101 (February 27, 2006).
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 146
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
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
Michael D. Four
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrman & Sommers, LLP
6300 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 2000
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5202
mdf@ssdslaw.com
Gary Watts
11684 Ventura Blvd. #705
Studio City, CA 91604
Leo T. Reed
Secretary-Treasurer
Teamster Local Union #399
P.O. Box 6017
North Hollywood, CA 91603