IN RE: WILLIAM LINDSEY, Protestor.
Protest Decision 2011 ESD 74
Issued: January 20, 2011
OES Case No. P-071-010411-GP
William Lindsey, member of Local Union 541 and candidate for delegate, 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 president attempted to compel him to withdraw his candidacy by offering to have the local union pay all expenses to take him to the convention as a guest of the local union, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Mary Ann Campbell investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
At Local Union 541's nominations meeting held January 4, protestor Lindsey was one of three members who were nominated for two delegate positions. Two members were nominated for the two alternate delegate positions. At a meeting that immediately followed the nominations meeting, Lindsey stated that Jed Cope, the local union president, approached him and said that if Lindsey would withdraw his candidacy, the local union would take him to the convention as a guest of the local union, with all expenses paid by the local union as if he were an elected delegate. Lindsey contacted our office to inquire whether the president's offer was ethical. Lindsey then declined the offer and filed this protest.
Local union president Jed Cope acknowledged to our investigator that he made the offer. He said he made the offer to avoid the expense of an election, an expense he could have avoided had he withdrawn his own candidacy.
The Rules prohibit use of union funds to assist in campaigning. Article VII, Section 12(c). They also declare that the union may not "contribute, directly or indirectly, anything of value, where the purpose, object or foreseeable effect of the contribution is to influence, positively or negatively, the election of a candidate." Article XI, Section 1(b)(3). Violation of these restrictions can be the most serious offense. In the past, actual diversion of union treasury funds to conduct campaign activity has resulted in candidate disqualification. See United States v. IBT, 156 F.3d 354 (2d Cir. 1998) (upholding disqualification of general president candidate who had actual knowledge of diversion of IBT treasury funds to conduct campaign activity).
Had Lindsey accepted Cope's offer and withdrawn his candidacy, Cope would have been elected delegate by white ballot, a result he would have achieved by use of the union treasury.
However, the Rules do not prohibit offered or proposed use of union funds. The election rules create procedures for the conduct of delegate elections, and are concerned with violations of those procedures that may affect an electoral outcome. Here, Cope's proposal did not proceed beyond discussion, no funds were expended, and there is no basis to find a violation of the ban on use of union resources.
As we said in Gegare (after remand), 2011 ESD 73 (January 20, 2011):
Union assets cannot be used to support campaign activity and we do not approve of, endorse, or condone schemes that contemplate that possibility. . . . But if [a] proposal[] like [the one] described in this ruling had advanced to concrete action, serious consequences would quite likely follow for those involved, whether as a remedial matter under the Rules, under disciplinary provisions of the IBT Constitution (including referral to the IRB), or under applicable law.
As a matter of enforcing the Rules, the facts found here show that Cope approached, but did not cross, a major boundary line, and was saved from serious consequences perhaps only because Lindsey rejected his proposal.
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, 1801 K Street, N.W., Suite 421 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
2011 ESD 74
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 Hall 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
1555 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
Julian Gonzalez
Lewis, Clifton & Nikolaidis, P.C.
350 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10001-5013
jgonzalez@lcnlaw.com
William Lindsey
8118 NE 288th Street
Turney, MO 64493
chigger8118@aol.com
Jed Cope, President
Teamsters Local Union 541
4501 Emmanuel Cleaver II Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64130
rothen541@aol.com
Mary Ann Campbell
13859 State Road E
DeSoto, MO 63020
scdennis@aol.com
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