OFFICE OF THE ELECTION SUPERVISOR
for the
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
IN RE: SEAN MASON, ) Protest Decision 2021 ESD 120
) Issued: June 4, 2021
Protestor. ) OES Case No. P-130-033021-SO
____________________________________)
Sean Mason, member of Local Union 385, 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 local union failed to send ballots to new members, in violation of the Rules.
Election Supervisor representative Dolores Hall investigated this protest.
Findings of Fact and Analysis
Local Union 385 elected 10 delegates and 3 alternate delegates to the IBT convention. Two full slates and 1 independent candidate competed for these positions. The OZ Teamsters United Local 385 slate was headed by Mason, the protestor here. The Teamsters Unite! Stronger Contracts slate was comprised in part by employees of the local union. Ballots were mailed March 2 and counted April 1, 2021.
Under Florida law, employees who work for an employer under contract with a labor union are not required to join or pay membership dues to the union. Non-members are not eligible to receive or cast ballots in union elections, including the delegates and alternate delegates election that occurred at Local Union 385. Protestor Mason alleged that, while campaigning, he encountered employees who were not union members but who wished to join so they could support his candidacy. He further alleged that he obtained signed membership cards from these employees and turned them in to the local union but that the local union did not send ballots to these employees.
Mason filed this protest on March 30, 2021, two days before ballots were tallied in the election. Although filed as a pre-election protest, it was filed too late to effectuate a remedy before the election concluded, if a violation were to be found. Accordingly, we deferred the protest for post-election consideration under authority granted us by Article XIII, Section 2(f)(2) of the Rules. Post-election protests “shall only be “and remedied if the alleged violation may have affected the outcome of the election.” Article XIII, Section 3(b).
Mason’s slate lost the election. The margin between the winning delegate with the fewest votes and Mason, the losing candidate with the most votes was 263. The number of membership cards Mason estimated he and fellow candidates on his slate submitted to the local union did not exceed 150. We look to whether the alleged violation, if proven, may have altered the outcome of the election. On the facts presented here, we find no impact on the election outcome. Even if 1) Mason’s estimate of the membership cards submitted to the local union was accurate, 2) those employees were deemed eligible to vote, and 3) they cast their ballots for Mason, his tally would have fallen short of that of the winning delegate with the fewest votes.
Accordingly, we find no effect on the outcome of the election, and for this reason 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 120
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
Sean Mason
Seanlmason16@gmail.com
Teamsters Local Union 385
Michael McElmury, Trustee
mmcelmury@teamster.org
Dolores Hall
dhall@ibtvote.org
Jeffrey Ellison
EllisonEsq@gmail.com