IN RE: MIKE McGOWAN, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 293
Issued: June 2, 2006
OES Case No. P-06-272-042606-SO
Mike McGowan, a member and elected delegate from Local Union 667, filed a post-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 3(a) of the Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). The protest alleges that local union secretary-treasurer John Gale made airline reservations for travel of the protestor and other elected delegates to the IBT convention on dates that they did not wish to travel.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores C. Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
The protestor, an elected delegate from Local Union 667, found several flights on the internet on the dates the delegates and alternates wanted to travel. The flights had the travelers going to the convention on Saturday, June 24 and leaving the convention in the early afternoon of Friday, June 30 to return to Memphis. He presented this information to Gale who responded that the travelers would be required to remain at the convention until its closure, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 30. The only flight that left Las Vegas after that time required a change of planes in Atlanta, with final arrival in Memphis at approximately 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Although the travelers balked at those arrangements and the protestor insisted that he had to be in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 24, Gale went ahead and made the reservations to travel to Las Vegas on Sunday, June 25 and return on Saturday, July 1.
After Gale was contacted and advised that travelers to the convention were allowed to make their own travel arrangements pursuant to the Advisory on Travel Expenses, Gale agreed to change the reservations to allow travel to Las Vegas on Saturday, June 24 with a return on Saturday, July 1. The local union agreed to pay the $50 change fee for each reservation, in addition to paying the airfare.
The Advisory on Travel Expenses, governed by Article III Section 3(a) of the Rules and by Article III, Sections 2 and 4 of the IBT Constitution, requires the local union to pay for six nights of hotel expenses for its delegates. Since the travelers have changed their airline reservations, they will actually incur seven nights of hotel stay. The local union will pay only for six nights and the protestor has charged the extra night for each of the four travelers to his credit card. The Election Office representative explained to Ann Curry Thompson, the protestor's attorney, that the protestor's stay on Saturday night, June 24, is optional; as such, the local union is not required to pay for hotel lodging for that evening. The protestor intends to request that the local union membership approve reimbursement of the additional lodging expense at the next local union membership meeting.
Accordingly, we deem the 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. 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 293
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
Stefan Ostrach
1863 Pioneer Parkway East, #217
Springfield, OR 97477-3907
saostrach@gmail.com
Mike McGowan
7254 Black Oak Drive
Walls, MS 38680
Ann Curry Thompson
Kelman Loria, PLLC
660 Woodward Avenue, Suite 1420
Detroit, MI 48226
John Gale
Secretary-Treasurer, Local 667
796 East Brooks Avenue
Memphis, TN 38116
Dolores C. Hall
1000 Belmont Place
Metairie, LA 70001
hall1000@cox.net
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com