OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: DEREK CORREIA ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 98
and ERIC ROBINSON, ) Issued: April 9, 2021
Protestors. ) OES Case No. P-118-031821-FW
____________________________________)
Derek Correia and Eric Robinson, members of Local Union 542, 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 the worksite list provided by Local Union 542 was inaccurate.
Election Supervisor representative Deborah Schaaf investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Local Union 542 will elect 10 delegates and 6 alternate delegates to the IBT convention. The Members for Members 542 slate, comprised of rank-and-file members, is competing against the Teamsters 542 Members First slate, consisting of local union officials and rank-and-file members. The protestors here are delegate candidates on the Members for Members 542 slate.
Pursuant to Article VII, Section 1(b), each delegate candidate has “the right to a current list of all sites, with corresponding addresses, where any and all Union members work.” The purpose of the right to worksite lists is to level the playing field and permit candidates who are not local union officials to know where local union members work so they may effectively campaign among them, Martinez, 2011 ESD 223 (April 19, 2011), and to permit face-to-face campaigning. Halstead, 2016 ESD 246 (June 16, 2016).
The worksite list must be accurate. Providing a list with even a few errors constitutes a violation. Young, P426 (March 29, 1996); Viehland, 2006 ESD 271 (May 23, 2006), aff’d, 06 EAM 47 (June 21, 2006) (local union violated Rules by producing worksite list that had not been updated in 5 years and had nearly double the worksites listed than actually existed); Teamsters United, 2015 ESD 61 (December 19, 2015) (same); but see, Martinez, 2011 ESD 223 (April 19, 2011) (although worksite list was incomplete, protestor suffered no prejudice because he was able to campaign at sites not listed).
The protestors here alleged that the worksite list provided by Local Union 542 provided incorrect addresses for three worksites where employees of the City of Imperial CA work. The protest cites Public Works, at 720 E. 14th Street, the Wastewater Treatment Plant, at 701 E. 14th Street, and the Water Plant, at 210 S. B Street, as incorrect addresses. All are industrial locations that may be seen in aerial views available on Google Maps. Two are situated on non-public streets that are not mapped by the Streetview function of that app. The evidence protestors presented to support their allegations that the worksite list was incorrect was that they went to the locations to which they were directed by a mapping app and did not find the worksites.
Investigation showed that the addresses for these facilities listed on the worksite list were provided to the local union by the City of Imperial and were indeed correct. At least one of the addresses is displayed on the City of Imperial public website. That protestors could not locate the addresses using their mapping app is, with respect to the E. 14th Street locations, the result of a mapping app error and poor research by protestors.
Specifically for the E. 14th Street locations, protestors’ mapping app directed them to the wrong location, a residential neighborhood at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and 14th Street. Imperial Avenue is the east-west meridian in that locale, and the worksites protestors sought were some 7 blocks east, in the industrial area on the far side of CA-86, a limited access road that stood between protestors and the worksites they sought. Indeed, the E. 14th Street locations could be seen in the distance of one of the photos protestors supplied our investigator.
For the S. B Street location, the mapping app directed them to a location at the bend where B Street skirts the 14 runway of the Imperial County Airport. The Water Plant is in fact located there, immediately north of the runway, near the intersection of S. B Street and a non-public extension of W. 6th Street.
Protestors reported to our investigator that they went to the City of Imperial city hall and asked directions, which were provided. Despite this, protestors elected to file this protest and make the false assertion that the worksite list addresses were incorrect.
Under Article VII, Section 1(b), the local union is responsible only to list the correct addresses of worksites. It is not responsible for the error by a mapping app or the protestors’ inability to navigate to the addresses where local union members work.
On these facts, we find the worksite list was accurate with respect to the locations at issue here. For this reason, we DENY this protest.
This protest adds to the increasing evidence that protestors make false allegations, both in protest documents and in protest investigations. False statements constitute a failure to cooperate with the Election Supervisor. Article XIII, Section 2(g). We address in Vasquez, 2021 ESD 104 (April 9, 2021), the false statements protestors made to the Election Supervisor here.
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 98
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
Derek Correia
Dmcorreia13@aol.com
Eric Robinson
Eric.robinson@gmail.com
Jaime Vasquez
jvasquez@teamsters542.org
Michael Miller
Miller.michael.j@verizon.net
Deborah Schaaf
dschaaf@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com