Protest Decisions

OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR

for the

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS

IN RE: SABRINA CHURCH TATE &     )           Protest Decision 2016 ESD 296

            JOE EASON,                                    )           Issued: October 4, 2016

                                                                        )           OES Case Nos. P-362-091216-SO,   

            Protestors.                                          )              P-364-091916-SO & P-365-091916-SO

____________________________________)                      

Sabrina Church Tate, member of Local Union 71 and candidate for local union office, filed two pre-election protests pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2015-2016 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”).  Protest P-362-091216-SO alleged that Willie Ford, candidate for local union president, violated the Rules by using email lists and phone numbers he acquired during the delegates election to promote his candidacy in the local union officers election.  The protest further alleged that Ford’s campaign material in the local union officers election contained false statements and that a member of Ford’s slate impermissibly distributed flyers during a union membership meeting.  Church Tate’s second protest, Protest P-365-091916-SO, alleged again that Ford violated the Rules by using email lists and phone numbers he acquired during the delegates election to further his campaign in the local union officers election.

Joe Eason, member and president of Local Union 71 who is running for re-election to that office, filed a protest in case number P-364-091916-SO.  The protest alleged that Ford violated the Rules by using email lists and phone numbers he acquired during the delegates election to further his campaign in the local union officers election.

            Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated these protests.  They were consolidated for decision.

Findings of Fact and Analysis

Respondent Ford was a successful candidate for delegate in the local union delegates and alternate delegates election.  He ran in that election on a slate that included William Thompson.

The Local Union 71 officers election will be held in November 2016.  Ford and Thompson are each pursuing local union office, but they are competing on different slates, challenging a slate of incumbent local union officers.  Thompson has allied with Church Tate, one of the protestors here.  The other protestor, Eason, is the incumbent local union president.

All three protests alleged that respondent Ford has used email addresses and phone numbers of local union members to campaign and that the contact information was obtained from the Teamsters United slate of candidates for International office, in violation of the Rules.  Investigation showed that Ford obtained the email addresses and phone numbers from local union members directly and not from any other source.  Some of the contact information he obtained was drawn from accreditation petitions he circulated on behalf of the Teamsters United slate pursuant to Article X of the Rules.  He obtained the remainder in the course of preparing for and mounting his campaign for local union office.

Article VII, Section 3 of the Rules permits an accredited candidate for International office to obtain the IBT’s membership list.  That IBT-provided list may not be “used for any purpose other than advancing the accredited or nominated candidate’s campaign for nomination and/or election. Use of a membership list in support of the election of delegate and/or alternate delegate candidates shall not constitute misuse of the list, provided that the list is used solely to advance the accredited or nominated candidate’s campaign for nomination and/or election.”  The IBT-provided list includes home addresses of members but not phone numbers or email addresses.

Ford denied that he obtained the IBT-provided list and used it in the local union officers campaign.  The Teamsters United slate also denied providing the Local Union 71 list to Ford.  The slate further denied that it engaged a vendor to perform a “phone match” of Local Union 71’s list by which phone numbers might be obtained for those members.  There is no contrary evidence. 

The Rules place limitations on the use of union-provided membership lists.  They do not prohibit a member who solicits contact information from other members on behalf of a slate of candidates for International office from using that information to support his own candidacy for local union office.  Accordingly, we DENY this aspect of these protests.

With respect to Church Tate’s remaining allegations – that Ford’s campaign literature in the local union officers election contains false information and that a member of Ford’s slate in that election campaigned in a location where campaigning was prohibited – we DENY these protests for lack of jurisdiction.  The Rules grant the Election Supervisor “authority to conduct and supervise the election of delegates to the International Convention, the nomination of candidates for International office at the Convention and the election of International officers.”  Article I.  The Election Supervisor has no authority to conduct or supervise local union officers elections.  

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 296

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