IN RE: LARRY LOCKHART, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 264
Issued: May 24, 2006
OES Case No. P-05-048-120905-MW
Larry Lockhart, a member and delegate candidate from Local Union 604, 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 local union secretary-treasurer John Thyer retaliated against Lockhart in the local union's delegate and alternate delegate election by filing charges against him for conduct that occurred the during local union officer election.
Election Supervisor representative Mary A. Campbell investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Lockhart ran against Thyer for local union secretary-treasurer in Local Union 604's officer election in Fall 2005. On October 26, 2005, Thyer filed an election protest against Lockhart in the local union officer election, alleging that Lockhart and his slate accepted an improper employer contribution in that election. Thyer defeated Lockhart in the local union election. Thereafter, Lockhart requested that General President Hoffa direct Thyer to dismiss the local union charges, citing the election results as obviating any need to consider them. By letter dated December 7, Hoffa so directed Thyer, and the hearing on the charges was canceled and the charges dismissed.
The protest here alleged that, during the pre-election period in the local union officer election, Lockhart announced that he intended to run against Thyer in the delegate and alternate delegate election. The nominations meeting for the delegate election was held February 12, 2006. Thyer was the sole candidate nominated for delegate, and local union president Terry Manion was the sole candidate nominated for alternate delegate; at the close of the nominations meeting, Thyer and Manion were declared elected. Lockhart was not nominated for either delegate or alternate delegate.
Lockhart's protest here alleged that Thyer's local union officer protest was filed to retaliate against Lockhart for his intention, subsequently abandoned, to run for delegate. Lockhart presented no evidence that Thyer was aware of Lockhart's delegate candidacy. Assuming without deciding that Lockhart formed the intention, in October or November 2005, to run for delegate in February 2006, Lockhart presented no evidence that Thyer's act of bringing internal union charges against Lockhart arising from the local union officer election was in any way motivated by Lockhart's potential delegate candidacy. Instead, the only evidence our investigation found was that Thyer's charges against Lockhart arose from Lockhart's alleged conduct in the local union officer election and that those charges were dismissed at the direction of General President Hoffa.
Under Article I of the Rules, the Election Supervisor has jurisdiction to supervise local union delegate elections and the International officer election. It is well-settled that the Election Supervisor has no jurisdiction over local union elections. Miner, 2005 ESD 1 (May 27, 2005); Jordan, 2001 EAD 76 (January 3, 2001); Collett, 2000 EAD 66 (December 19, 2000); and Hale, 2000 EAD 61 (December 12, 2000).
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. 20006-1416, 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 264
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
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
Larry Lockhart
3226 Wilshire Drive
Granite City, IL 62040
John Thyer, Secretary-Treasurer
IBT Local 604
300 S Grand Boulevard 230
St Louis, MO 63103
Mark Potashnick
111 Westport Plaza, Suite 600
St. Louis, MO 63146
Mary A. Campbell
13859 State Road, E.
DeSoto, MO 63020
scdennis@aol.com
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com