IN RE: LEEDHAM SLATE, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2006 ESD 381
Issued: October 24, 2006
OESCase No. P-06-354-101306-HQ
The Tom Leedham Strong Contracts Good Pensions slate 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 UPS made an impermissible employer contribution to the Hoffa 2006 slate by granting candidate James P. Hoffa campaign access to the UPS hub in Louisville, Kentucky, in violation of Article VII, Section 12 (f) of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Maureen Geraghty investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact
On Friday, October 13, 2006, General President James P. Hoffa and Local Union 89 secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman campaigned together in Louisville, Kentucky in support of Hoffa's reelection effort. As part of their joint campaign activities, they and other Hoffa supporters campaigned in the employee parking lot at the UPS hub in Louisville. Hoffa and his supporters campaigned in the employee parking lot throughout the morning, greeting and speaking with Teamsters members employed at UPS as they entered and exited the parking lot area. Approximately 8,000 members of Local Union 89 are employed at that facility.
At about 1:00 p.m. that day, Zuckerman requested and received permission from UPS management for Hoffa to enter the employee work areas inside the facility. A number of Local Union 89 business agents who are Hoffa supporters accompanied them as they entered the building.
Hoffa, Zuckerman and the entourage of supporters remained inside the UPS hub facility for approximately 90 minutes. The UPS Air District Labor Manager (UPS management) at the facility drove them around the ground and air district areas. As Hoffa, Zuckerman and the other Hoffa supporters were driven around the facility by UPS management, rank and file employees stopped to waive and cheer and Hoffa waived back and repeatedly gave the thumbs up sign as he passed employees. Hoffa and Zuckerman and Local Union 89 business agents also went to the bypass area and spoke with members. In some of those conversations with UPS employees, members expressed their support for Hoffa's campaign. Hoffa addressed assembled employees and instructed them to vote and to "make sure their vote counted."
Candidate Hoffa, through his counsel, stated that although he went to the employee parking lot outside the facility to campaign, he detoured from that original purpose to tour the new area of the facility as part of his official duties as IBT General President. He states the tour lasted about 1 hour. The IBT is engaged in negotiations for a successor national contract with UPS, but in his role as General President he never requested a tour of the facility from UPS management. We do not credit the explanation that the purpose of Hoffa's visit to the UPS hub spontaneously changed at the plant gate from campaigning to exercising his duties as General President.
Our investigation established that Hoffa has been on the road campaigning as a candidate for IBT International office since October 9, 2006.
UPS maintains a firm policy restricting access to all its non-public facilities, including its Louisville, Kentucky hub operations, to its own employees. Until October 13, 2006, UPS had uniformly enforced that policy throughout the 2005-2006 IBT International union and delegate officer elections. UPS claimed any campaigning Hoffa, Zuckerman and his supporters engaged in once inside the facility was not authorized by UPS management.
On October 13, 2006, Mark Huckleberry, a member of Local Union 89 employed at the UPS air hub and a candidate for IBT vice president for the Central Region on the Leedham slate, filed a protest requesting similar access to employee work areas for the purpose of campaigning.
Analysis
Article VII, Section 12 of the Rules states:
(a) All Union members retain the right to participate in campaign activities, including the right to run for office, to support or oppose any candidate, to aid or campaign for any candidate, and to make personal campaign contributions. This includes, but is not limited to, the right to distribute campaign literature and) otherwise to solicit support for a member's candidacy) outside a meeting hall before, during and after a Union meeting, regardless of Union policy, rule or practice.
Where any candidate or other member of the Union exercises or attempts to exercise any right under the Rules to campaign for or against the candidacy of any person for the position of delegate, alternate delegate or International Officer, members of the Union shall have the reciprocal right to hear or otherwise receive such campaign advocacy.
No candidate or member may campaign during his/her working hours. Campaigning incidental to work is not, however, violative of this section. Further, campaigning during paid vacation, paid lunch hours or breaks, or similar paid time off is also not violative of this section….
* * *
(f) An employer's discrimination between candidates in permitting access to its property shall constitute an improper contribution to the candidate(s) who benefit from such discrimination.
The ballots for the IBT International union officer elections were mailed to Teamsters members on October 6, 2006; ballots were expected to arrive in members' homes on and after October 10, 2006. Our investigation established that Hoffa and Zuckerman and a group of Hoffa supporters engaged in campaigning inside the UPS facility on October 13, 2006. Under such circumstances, the appropriate remedy is to require UPS to grant access to the Leedham slate on a non-discriminatory basis. This is particularly important given the limited time remaining in the election period. UPS voluntarily agreed to permit that access on Monday October 16, 2006 for 90 minutes, and the Hoffa slate agreed to pay the transportation costs for a representative of the Leedham slate to fly to Louisville to engage in campaigning inside the UPS hub. Sandy Pope, Leedham slate candidate for General Secretary-Treasurer, was permitted to campaign in employee work areas of the UPS air hub in Louisville for 90 minutes on October 16.
The employer further agreed to post the attached on notice on all union bulletin boards at the facility advising employees that UPS does not endorse any candidate for IBT international office. The employer has agreed to post this notice on all union bulletin boards at the facility no later than October 29, 2006.
Based on the foregoing, we deem 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. 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 381
NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION 89 EMPLOYED AT THE UPS AIR HUB, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, FROM IBT ELECTION SUPERVISOR RICHARD W. MARK
The Rules for the 2005-2006 IBT International Union Delegate and International Officer Election ("Rules") prohibit an employer from discriminating between candidates for IBT International office by permitting access to its property to one candidate or group of candidates while denying access to another candidate or group of candidates. The Rules also prohibit the employer from supporting or endorsing a candidate or group of candidates.
The Tom Leedham Strong Contracts Good Pension Slate alleged that UPS management permitted James P. Hoffa to enter the UPS hub facility in Louisville Kentucky for the purpose of campaigning.
UPS states it allowed James Hoffa and Fred Zuckerman to enter the premises for official union business on October 13, 2006, and denies it gave Hoffa and Zuckerman permission to campaign once inside the facility. Further, to eliminate any appearance that it favors one candidate or slate over another in the IBT officer election, UPS voluntarily permitted Sandy Pope and Mark Huckleberry, candidates for International office on the Leedham slate, to campaign inside the facility on October 16, 2006.
UPS does not endorse any candidate for IBT office. Further, it has agreed to abide by the Rules provision forbidding an employer from discriminating against candidates in the granting of access to employer worksites.
Any member who has not received his/her ballot may request a replacement ballot by contacting the Election Supervisor. Any member who has already voted but who seeks to change his/her vote may also request a replacement ballot from the Election Supervisor; the member's ballot with the later postmark will be counted and the earlier postmarked ballot will not. Any protest you have regarding your rights under the Rules or any conduct by any person or entity which violates the Rules should be filed with the Election Supervisor. The Election Supervisor can be contacted by mail at 1725 K Street, Suite 1400, Washington, D.C. 20006; by telephone at 888-IBT-2006; by fax at 202-454-1501; and by email at electionsupervisor@ibtvote.org.
__________________________________
Richard W. Mark
IBT Election Supervisor
Dated:
This is an official notice prepared and approved by Richard W. Mark, Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. It must remained posted through November 14, 2006 and must not be defaced or covered up.
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
Gary Tocci
Reed Smith
1650 Market Street, Suite 2500
Philadelphia, PA
gtocci@reedsmith.com
Maureen Geraghty
The Geraghty Law Firm
426 Old Salem Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
mg@geraghtylawfirm.com
Jeffrey Ellison
510 Highland Avenue, #325
Milford, MI 48381
EllisonEsq@aol.com