OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: DALE VARNEY, ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 71
OLIVIA HARR, ) Issued: March 5, 2021
and MITCH YETTER, ) OES Case No. P-091-022721-GP
)
Protestors. )
____________________________________)
Dale Varney, Olivia Harr, and Mitch Yetter, members of Local Union 222, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIII, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 2020-2021 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). The protest alleged that Local Union 222 violated the Rules by posting the remedial notice the Election Supervisor ordered in Hogue, 2021 ESD 61 (February 23, 2021), on too many bulletin boards at YRC.
Election Supervisor representative Jim Devine investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
In Hogue, we found that the 222 for OZ slate violated the Rules by obtaining employer assistance to promote its campaign fundraiser. Supporters of the slate solicited YRC to advertise a campaign burrito sale on the employer’s erasable whiteboard. We ordered the slate to cease and desist from soliciting or accepting employer contributions to its campaign, to disgorge the proceeds it had received from that fundraiser, and to pay a fine to the Office of Election Supervisor. We also ordered Local Union 222 to post the remedial notice attached to our decision on the union’s worksite bulletin board at YRC.
The protest Varney, Harr, and Yetter filed alleged that the local union posted the notice on two employer-owned bulletin boards at YRC, in addition to the union’s board. The protest said that the additional postings of the notice violated Article XI, Section 1(b)(2), which prohibits employer contributions to a candidate, and Section 1(b)(13) of the same article, which holds candidates strictly liable for impermissible contributions.
The premise of the protestors’ claim is that the remedial notice we ordered in Hogue is campaign material and that posting it on an employer-owned board constitutes a contribution by the employer to a candidate. The protestors are wrong on their legal conclusion. The notice is an official declaration by the Election Supervisor, ordered to remedy a Rules violation. The notice is directed to members, to inform them of the conduct the Rules require and that the 222 for OZ slate violated those Rules. Neither the Election Supervisor nor the local union is a candidate. The provisions the protestors cite are directed at the conduct and behavior of candidates and bar candidates from receiving campaign assistance from employers. For this reason, the local union’s compliance with the Election Supervisor’s remedial order cannot violate the provisions of Article XI the protestors cite.
Not only are protestors wrong on their legal conclusion, they also are wrong on the facts. The protestors contend that the union has one board at YRC. This is not true. The local union posts notices on multiple boards at that location. When Local Union 222 prepared its local union election plan in July 2020, it identified the bulletin boards at YRC it uses to post notices to the membership. Investigation showed that the local union properly posted the remedial notice the Election Supervisor ordered in Hogue on the boards at YRC where it routinely posts notices.
We conclude, therefore, that the local union complied with its posting obligation stated in the Hogue remedial order. For this reason, we DENY the 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. Any party requesting a hearing must comply with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2(i). All parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely in any such appeal upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Supervisor. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing, shall specify the basis for the appeal, and shall be served upon:
Barbara Jones
Election Appeals Master
IBTappealsmaster@bracewell.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, all within the time prescribed above. Service may be accomplished by email, using the “reply all” function on the email by which the party received this decision. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for hearing.
Richard W. Mark
Election Supervisor
cc: Barbara Jones
2021 ESD 71
DISTRIBUTION LIST (BY EMAIL UNLESS NOTED):
Bradley T. Raymond, General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
braymond@teamster.org
Edward Gleason
egleason@gleasonlawdc.com
Patrick Szymanski
szymanskip@me.com
Will Bloom
wbloom@dsgchicago.com
Tom Geoghegan
tgeoghegan@dsgchicago.com
Rob Colone
rmcolone@hotmail.com
Barbara Harvey
blmharvey@sbcglobal.net
Kevin Moore
Mooregp2021@gmail.com
F.C. “Chris” Silvera
fitzverity@aol.com
Fred Zuckerman
fredzuckerman@aol.com
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
ken@tdu.org
Dale Varney
Dvarney3860@gmail.com
Olivia Harr
Oford10@gmail.com
Mitch Yetter
Mitchyetter76@gmail.com
Teamsters Local Union 222
Spencer Hogue, Secretary-Treasurer
s.hogue@teamsterslocal222.org
Jim Devine
jdevine@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com