Protest Decisions

OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR

for the

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS

IN RE:  Christine Belliveau,         )           Protest Decision 2016 ESD 281

                                                                        )           Issued: August 19, 2016

            Protestor.                                           )           OES Case No. P-315-070516-FW

____________________________________)                      

Christine Belliveau, member of Local Union 63, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2015-2016 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).  The protest alleged that agents of Local Union 63, with the support of employer UPS, placed Hoffa-Hall 2016 campaign material on employer equipment inside the UPS facility in Ontario, California.

            Election Supervisor representative Deborah Schaaf investigated this protest.

Findings of Fact and Analysis

Protestor Belliveau reported seeing campaign stickers for the Hoffa-Hall slate affixed to employer equipment inside the Ontario, CA UPS facility, which the protest described as a “giant” facility.  The protestor provided a photograph of a Hoffa-Hall 2016 pole sticker affixed to one of the many wheeled bulk bins used inside UPS facilities for temporary storage of packages during the sort process.  The protestor told our investigator she had seen a total of three bulk bins inside the Ontario terminal bearing Hoffa-Hall campaign stickers.

Belliveau stated that she removed two of the three stickers from the UPS bulk bins and photographed the remaining sticker as evidence to support her protest.  She denied seeing any other Hoffa-Hall stickers anywhere on the Ontario UPS property.  Further, she presented no evidence that Local Union 63 agents or UPS officials were responsible for posting the stickers.

Sam Stewart, the local union president, told our investigator that after receiving the protest, he and a local union business agent went to the Ontario facility and spent two hours looking for additional Hoffa-Hall campaign stickers or any other political material posted anywhere in the Ontario facility.  They found none.  Stewart further stated that Local Union 63 advised its business agents and stewards at the Ontario facility personally or by text message to look for and remove any campaign material they might find affixed to employer equipment and to report its presence to Stewart.

Stewart stated that UPS by policy does not condone the display of personal or commercial stickers (including campaign stickers) but does little to enforce its policy.  To substantiate this statement, Stewart provided pictures of UPS bulk bins at the Ontario facility, each of which bore advertising stickers that were neither campaign related nor UPS-related. 

To address this perceived lack of enforcement by UPS, Stewart promised our investigator that Local Union 63 will respond promptly to any complaint made by OES or any Local Union 63 member that campaign material was impermissibly displayed inside the workplace of any employer of Local Union 63 members.

We find that Hoffa-Hall campaign stickers were impermissibly posted on employer equipment within the sprawling Ontario UPS facility, that protestor Belliveau properly removed them promptly upon seeing them, and that local union president Stewart and a business agent then completed a comprehensive search of the facility for additional campaign material and found no additional stickers. 

On this basis, 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:

Kathleen A. Roberts

Election Appeals Master

JAMS

620 Eighth Avenue, 34^th floor

New York, NY 10018

kroberts@jamsadr.com

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, 1050 17^th Street, N.W., Suite 375, Washington, D.C. 20036, all within the time prescribed above.  A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.

                                                                        Richard W. Mark

                                                                        Election Supervisor

cc:        Kathleen A. Roberts

            2016 ESD 281

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