IN RE: JUAN LEAL, Protestor
Protest Decision 2010 ESD 39
Issued: October 14, 2010
OES Case No. P-039-101210-ME
Juan Leal, member of Local Union 683, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2010-2011 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules"). The protest alleged that the local union did not comply with its obligations under the Rules with respect to its local union election plan.
Election Supervisor representative Michael J. Miller investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Under Article II, Section 4 of the Rules, local unions conduct their delegates and alternate delegates elections in accordance with election plans approved by the Election Supervisor. Once the plan is submitted, local union members (and others specified by the rule) have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the proposed plan from the local union, including worksite lists attached to it, at no cost. Article II, Section 4(c); Huff, 2005 ESD 6 (August 18, 2005). In addition, any member has "the right to submit written comments to the Election Supervisor, with a copy to the Local Union, concerning a proposed Local Union Plan, within fifteen (15) days of the submission of the Plan to the Election Supervisor." Article II, Section 4(d).
In response to protestor Leal's request, the local union mailed a copy of the proposed plan to Leal by certified mail on October 5. Leal acknowledged receipt of the plan on October 7. The next day, he filed a protest against Todd Mendez, principal officer of Local Union 683, "for false and misleading answers on" the plan. Leal amended his protest on October 13, alleging that the plan mailed to him did not include the worksite list, the bulletin board list, the local union's current bylaws, the current IBT Constitution, or "an original issue of the Local Union newsletter [published] after January 1, 2009."
The particulars of Leal's original complaint, that the proposed plan included false and misleading answers, were 1) that the surname of the agent hired by the local union to conduct its election was misspelled, 2) that local union officers and employees used email to communicate incidentally with members when the plan said they did not, and 3) that the local union maintains an email list of members when the plan stated it did not. We treat these statements by Leal as comments to the Election Supervisor, pursuant to Article II, Section 4(d), and not as a protest.
We next address Leal's amendment to his protest that asserts the local union did not produce certain attachments to the plan. As we have stated, a local union is required to produce worksite and bulletin board lists that are appended to the plan, when a member requests that the plan be produced. Alcazar, 2010 ESD 37 (October 13, 2010); Cook, 2010 ESD 34 (October 9, 2010); Evans, 2005 ESD 4 (August 12, 2005). In addition, the local union must produce its current bylaws, as these are to be made part of the plan pursuant to Article II, Section 4(b)(11). Contrary to Leal's assertion, however, the local union is not required to produce a copy of the IBT Constitution, for the Rules provision requires that the local union append to the proposed plan the "then-current Local Union Bylaws or Constitution," referring to a local union document and not to the International Constitution. Finally, while the local union is required to produce, on request, the local union publications published after January 1, 2009, it may produce copies thereof, instead of the originals that Leal seeks.
The local union has mailed Leal the attachments the Rules require it to produce. This action satisfies each aspect of his amended protest.
Accordingly, we deem this protest RESOLVED.
Kenneth Conboy
Election Appeals Master
Latham & Watkins
Suite 1000
885 Third Avenue
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, 1801 K Street, N.W., Suite421 L, Washington, D.C. 20006, 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
2010 ESD 39
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington,D.C. 20001
braymond@teamster.org
David J. Hoffa
Hoffa Keegel 2011
1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Ste. 730
Washington D.C. 20036
hoffadav@hotmail.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
P.O. Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210-0128
ken@tdu.org
Barbara Harvey
1394 E. Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48207
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Fred Gegare
P.O. Box 9663
Green Bay, WI 54308-9663
kirchmanb@yahoo.com
Scott D. Soldon
Previant Goldberg
155 North River Center Drive, Ste. 202
P.O. Box 12993
Milwaukee, WI 53212
sds@previant.com
Fred Zuckerman, President
Teamsters Local Union 89
3813 Taylor Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40215
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Robert M. Colone, Esq.
P.O. Box 272
Sellersburg, IN 47172-0272
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Carl Biers
Box 424, 315 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
info@SandyPope2011.org
Juan E. Leal
1980 Julianna
El Cajon, CA 92019-3897
fcceutig@cox.net
Todd C. Mendez, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 683
P.O. Box 620922
San Diego, CA 92162
toddmendez@teamsters683.com
Christine Mrak
2357 Hobart Avenue, SW
Seattle, WA 98116
chrismrak@gmail.com
Rochelle Goffe
1234 22nd Avenue, E
Seattle, WA 98112
rochellegoffe@gmail.com
Michael J. Miller
1611 Granville Ave., #8
Los Angeles, CA 90025
miller.michael.j@verizon.net
Kathryn Naylor
Office of the Election Supervisor
1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421 L
Washington, D.C. 20006
knaylor@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
214 S. Main Street, Ste. 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
EllisonEsq@aol.com