Protest Decisions

            Richard Reilly, member of Local Union 690, filed a post-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 Local Union 690 adopted a resolution seeking a refund of delegate convention expenses from Reilly and other local union delegates, in violation of the Rules.

            Election Supervisor representative Christine Mrak investigated this protest.

Findings of Fact

            Protestor Reilly, John Lattanzio and Neil Moore were elected as Local Union 690’s delegates to the 2011 IBT convention.  These delegate candidates and their alternate delegate candidate, J.J. Ohl, ran on a slate that opposed a slate comprised of local union officers.  The winning slate campaigned on a platform supporting Sandy Pope for IBT General President.  The losing slate campaigned stating their support for the re-election of General President Hoffa.

            Pursuant to Article III, Section 3(a) of the Rules, “each Local Union shall send to the Convention and pay the expenses … of all delegates to which it is entitled.”  Our Advisory on payment of convention expenses confirms this local union obligation.  Local Union 690 paid the lost time, travel, lodging, and per diem expenses of its delegates and alternate delegate as required by the Rules, the Advisory, and its local union election plan.

            At the local union membership meeting held September 10, 2011, the returning delegates gave a brief report on the convention.  During this presentation, member Fred Marston was given the floor to ask all delegates whether they attended all sessions of the convention.  All replied that they did except Reilly, who stated that he attended all sessions except the final one held Friday, July 1, and that he left one other session shortly before adjournment.

            At the October 20 membership meeting, member Pat Griffus proposed a resolution requiring the local union to recoup expenses paid to delegates for any time they were not in attendance at the convention proceedings.  The meeting chair, local union principal officer (and unsuccessful delegate candidate) Val Holstrom, did not rule the motion out of order.  Instead, he obtained a second to the motion and called the question.  The resolution was adopted.

            At the November 17 membership meeting, Griffus was permitted the floor again, whereupon he “clarified” the previously adopted resolution to require that all delegates reimburse the local union for all money spent by the union to send them to the convention.  Griffus’ justification for this clarification was that, in his view, the delegates did not do their jobs.  He distributed a writing in support of his clarification.  The writing was subsequently posted on at least one official union bulletin board at a worksite under the local union’s jurisdiction.  The writing stated the following, in part:

It is evident that the beneficiaries of Local 690’s money failed to meet their responsibility by neglecting to actually attend the IBT Convention.  Since it is too late to replace those undependable delegates who violated their responsibility, the only recourse is to demand repayment (in full) of the funds provided for services not rendered. …

It is unreasonable to expect the hard working members of Teamsters Local 690 to absorb the high cost of delegates’ election coupled with Convention expenses for the delegates, and then have their trust betrayed by those same delegates who apparently thought it was a Member funded Las Vegas vacation instead of the serious business of addressing the matters affecting the future of our Union.

            The convention commenced Monday, June 27 and concluded Friday, July 1.  Except for Friday, July 1, which was limited to a morning session only, each day of the convention had morning and afternoon sessions.  In addition, secret ballot voting to confirm or reject the nominations of candidates for International union office was held during the evenings of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, June 28 through 30.

            Upon registration at the convention site, delegates were issued badges that permitted them access to the convention floor and to the secret ballot polling location.  Delegates passed their badges through an electronic scanner and were permitted access to the floor.  Delegates leaving the floor also “badged out” through the same process.  However, delegates leaving en masse at the adjournment of each session were not badged out individually. 

            At our request, the IBT produced records of the badge activity for Local Union 690’s delegates.[1]  Those records showed that delegate Richard Reilly attended all sessions of the convention conducted on Monday through Thursday, June 27 through 30, and was present for all resolutions and nominations that came before the convention.  Reilly was not present for the Friday morning session.  Records maintained by the OES showed that Reilly participated in the secret ballot voting on nomination of candidates for International office on each of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, June 28 through 30.[2]

            Delegate John Lattanzio attended all sessions of the convention, Monday through Friday.  He departed the Wednesday morning session about 20 minutes before adjournment; for all other sessions, he arrived on time or early and stayed through adjournment.  He voted in all secret ballot elections for the nomination of candidates for International office.

            Badging records for delegate Neil Moore show that he arrived on time or early for all sessions of the convention, except the morning session on the first day of the convention.  Moore told our investigator that he was unfamiliar with the badging system and did not “badge in” for the convention’s first session, instead observing the proceedings from the visitors section of the hall.  Records show that Moore voted in all secret ballot elections for the nomination of candidates for International office.

Bob Holman served as a Local Union 690 delegate to the 1998, 2001 and 2006 conventions.  He told our investigator that then-secretary-treasurer Buck Holliday and current secretary-treasurer Val Holstrom also served as delegates to those conventions.  Holman stated that Pat Griffus was a delegate in 2001 and perhaps 2006.  Holman told our investigator that no delegate was “nailed to his seat” on the convention floor all week at any of the conventions he attended.  According to Holman, delegates would come and go, especially Holliday, who Holman described as gone “a lot” from the convention floor.  Holman further stated that he and Holstrom sat through most of the proceedings but would leave during portions of tiresome resolution discussions.  According to Holman, on the last day of the 2001 convention, the entire Local Union 690 delegation participated in the walkout of Hoffa delegates during the acceptance speech made by Tom Leedham, who opposed James Hoffa that year for IBT General President.  Holman stated that in 2006 he remained in the hall to hear Leedham but the rest of the Local Union 690 delegation walked out.  No effort was made after the 1998, 2001 or 2006 conventions to have the local union recoup money from delegates who failed to sit through the entire convention.

Analysis

            As noted, the Rules required Local Union 690 to pay the lost wages, travel, lodging and per diem expenses of its elected delegates to the IBT convention.  It complied with this obligation. 

            The Rules do not permit a local union to recoup any such expenses.  Accordingly, the resolution adopted at the October membership meeting and clarified at the November membership meeting should have been ruled out of order, as its adoption would place the local union in direct violation of its obligation under the Rules.  When the motion instead was adopted as a formal resolution, the local union was on record as attempting to recover from its elected delegates the convention expenses it was required by the Rules to pay.

            Local Union 690’s action violated the Rules.

            Accordingly, we GRANT the protest.

            In granting the protest, we also find that the elected delegates fulfilled their obligations to the local union and its membership by attending the convention, acting on resolutions presented to the body, and exercising their rights to vote on the nomination of candidates for International office.  In particular, the evidence demonstrates that all delegates of the local union attended all sessions of the convention, with the lone exception being that Reilly did not attend the Friday morning session that concluded the convention.  In this regard, the attendance of the local union delegation to the 2011 convention appears to have been more faithful and more diligent than that demonstrated by previous delegations of the local union, including those of which Griffus, the sponsor of the motion to recoup expenses, was a member.  Griffus’ motion, and the local union resolution that resulted from it, treated the 2011 delegates less favorably than previous delegations.  The distinction between the current and past delegations is that the current was elected on a platform that supported a candidate other than Hoffa for IBT General President.  Based on this evidence, we conclude that Griffus’ motion and Holstrom’s failure to rule it out of order and instead to permit it to be adopted, constituted retaliation against the elected delegates because of their political activity in support of Sandy Pope and against James Hoffa.  Article VII, Section 12(g) prohibits a local union from retaliating against a member for activity protected by the Rules.  Accordingly, we GRANT the protest on this basis as well.

Remedy

When the Election Supervisor determines that the Rules have been violated, he “may take whatever remedial action is deemed appropriate.” Article XIII, Section 4. In fashioning the appropriate remedy, the Election Supervisor views the nature and seriousness of the violation as well as its potential for interfering with the election process.

            We order Local Union 690 to cease and desist from all activity seeking to recoup any convention expenses paid to or on behalf of any delegates or alternate delegate who attended the 2011 IBT convention.  We further order the local union to cease and desist from retaliating against any member for activity protected by the Rules.  In particular, we order the local union to rescind the resolution requiring such recoupment.

            Further, we order Local Union 690 to post on all worksite bulletin boards under its jurisdiction the notice attached to this decision.  Posting of the notice shall be completed by December 21.  The notice shall remain posted through and including January 31, 2012.  It shall not be removed, defaced or covered up during the posting period.

            Within two days following completion of the initial posting, the local union shall supply an affidavit of compliance to the OES.  Within two days following January 31, 2012, the local union shall supply another affidavit to the OES attesting that the posting obligation was fulfilled as ordered.

            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, NY  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.