IN RE: ADDLAND ANDREWS and ARDEN D'AMICO, Protestors.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 226
Issued: May 8, 2006 ) OES Case Nos. P-06-170-022406-AT, P-06-181-022706-AT & P-06-184-022706-AT
Addland Andrews and Arden D'Amico, members of Local Union 639, filed three 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"). Each protest asserted that Yellow Freight Systems denied Andrews access to Yellow Freight's employee break room for the purpose of campaigning, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative J. Griffin Morgan investigated these protests.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Addland Andrews was a candidate for delegate on the Team 639 slate in Local Union 639's delegate and alternate delegate election. On Friday, February 24, 2006, Andrews went to the Yellow Freight terminal in Landover, Maryland to distribute campaign literature in the employee breakroom. Andrews asserted that past practice permits non-employees to enter the breakroom to campaign. Rick Barron, YF's day-shift supervisor, prevented Andrews from entering the breakroom and putting campaign literature there. Andrews alleged that Barron received his instructions to deny Andrews access to the breakroom from YF employee and shop steward Ed Conroy, who is a candidate on the opposing Members United slate. Andrews left the Yellow Freight terminal after being denied access to the breakroom. According to Andrews, he did not attempt to campaign in the employee parking lot.
Both Barron and Conroy deny that Conroy instructed Barron not to allow Andrews access to the employee breakroom. Barron stated that he is Conroy's supervisor and does not take instruction from him. Further, Barron stated he was unwilling to allow access by a non-employee to the breakroom without first speaking with terminal manager Tom Spragg. Conroy denied that he instructed Barron to bar Andrews from the breakroom and stated further he had no authority to do so. However, Conroy agreed that the past practice at YF was to allow non-employees to leave campaign literature on breakroom tables.
On Thursday, March 2, YF's terminal manager Spragg agreed to escort Andrews or any other Teamsters member campaigning as part of the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election, into the employee breakroom and allow them to leave campaign literature on the tables there. Spragg stated he was familiar with the rules governing access to employee parking lots and indicated his intent to have his terminal comply with those rules.
On Friday, March 3, Andrews returned to the YF terminal and was permitted to leave literature in the breakroom and to campaign in the area where employees park their vehicles.
We find that, although YF supervisor Barron initially denied Andrews access to the employee breakroom, he did not do so because Conroy directed or asked it. In addition, we find that YF did not violate the rules regarding access to employee parking lots and, further, that it has agreed to allow non-employee Teamsters members access to the employee breakroom in accordance with past practice. Accordingly, we deemed this protest RESOLVED.
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 226
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
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
Daniel E. Clifton
Lewis, Clifton & Nikolaidis, P.C.
275 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2300
New York, NY 10001
dclifton@lcnlaw.com
Stephen Ostrach
1863 Pioneer Parkway East, #217
Springfield, OR 97477-3907
saostrach@gmail.com
Arden D'Amico
1905 Narrows Lane
Silver Spring, MD 20906-1140
ardendamico@comcast.com
Addland Andrews
9376 Harvest Way
Laurel, MD 20723
Addman0561@yahoo.com
Ed Conroy
42148 Patuxent Drive
Mechanicsville, MD 20659
Rick Barron
Yellow Freight Systems
7600 Preston Drive
Landover, MD 20785
Tom Spragg
Yellow Freight Systems
7600 Preston Drive
Landover, MD 20785
Thomas Ratliff, President
IBT Local Union 639
3100 Ames Place, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 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