March 4, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Stephen S. Greenwell
3950 S. Banana River Boulevard
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931
South Florida Teamsters for Ron Carey Slate
12062 S.W. 117th Street #142
Miami, FL 33186
Re: Election Office Case No. P-443-LU769-SEC
Gentlepersons:
A pre-election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by Stephen S. Greenwell, a member and business agent of Local Union 769 and a candidate for delegate on the Tony Cannestro, Sr. Teamsters 769 First Slate (“Teamsters 769 First”). The protester alleges that Alan Evans, a member of the South Florida Teamsters for Ron Carey Slate (“South Florida Teamsters”) and Doreen Gasman, an IBT representative and member of Local Union 769 who supports this slate, violated the Rules in the following manner: (1) by harassing and intimidating the independent delegate candidate, Robert Carey, Jr., during several telephone conversations; (2) by slandering Tony Cannestro, Sr., the secretary-treasurer of Local Union 769, to Mr. Carey; and (3) by using funds of the IBT to pay for long-distance telephone calls to Mr. Carey.
The charged parties respond that while they made several telephone calls to Mr. Carey, the conversations were neither intimidating nor threatening.
Regional Coordinator J. Griffin Morgan investigated the protest.
Stephen Greenwell
March 4, 1996
Page 1
Local Union 769 held its nomination meeting on January 6, 1996. Two slates of candidates were nominated: the Teamsters 769 First Slate, which supports James Hoffa for general president, and the South Florida Teamsters Slate, which supports the candidacy of Ron Carey. In addition, Robert Carey, Jr. was nominated in writing as an independent candidate. Mr. Carey states that while he has a very good relationship with his business agent, Stephen Greenwell,[1] he decided to run for delegate because he favors Ron Carey for general president.
Shortly after the nomination meeting, two members of Mr. Evans’ slate indicated their desire to withdraw from the slate. It is not disputed that Mr. Evans and Ms. Gasman each telephoned Mr. Carey several times, urging him to join the South Florida Teamsters Slate in order not to split the candidates supporting General President Carey. Mr. Evans spoke with Mr. Carey at Air Canada, while Ms. Gasman telephoned him at his home.
Mr. Carey states that he was distressed by negative comments made by Mr. Evans and Ms. Gasman during these conversations about the officers of Local Union 769, including
Mr. Greenwell and Mr. Cannestro, Sr. In particular, the charged parties claimed that
Mr. Cannestro, Sr. had ties to the Mafia. While Mr. Carey agreed with the endorsement by the South Florida Teamsters for Ron Carey, he decided to continue as an independent candidate.
Article VIII, Section 11(a) of the Rules guarantees all union members “the right to participate in campaign activities, including the right to run for office . . .” Section 11(f) prohibits “[r]etaliation or threat of retaliation by . . . any member of the IBT . . . against a Union member, officer or employee for exercising any right guaranteed by this or any other Article of the Rules.”
According to Mr. Carey, he found the telephone calls by the charged parties to be inconvenient and upsetting. He states that on one occasion, Ms. Gasman telephoned him at home late in the evening, which woke up his young child. Following this incident, Mr. Carey asked Mr. Evans to stop the phone calls; other than one more call from Ms. Gasman, the phone calls ceased completely.
In two conversations with the Regional Coordinator, Mr. Carey stated that while the telephone calls were annoying, he did not feel threatened, harassed or intimidated by
Mr. Evans and Ms. Gasman, nor did he conclude that they were attempting to interfere with his right to run for delegate. Accordingly, the Election Officer finds that the telephone calls did not amount to a violation of the Rules.
The protester also asserts that the remarks by the charged parties linking
Mr. Cannestro, Sr. to the Mafia constitute slander.
Stephen Greenwell
March 4, 1996
Page 1
The Election Officer has consistently held that the Rules “do not impose upon candidates the duty to be truthful in their remarks about opposing candidates.” Landwehr,
P-201-LU795-MOI (November 15, 1995). Rather, “[t]he goal to be protected is free speech.” Newhouse, P-388-LU435-RMT (February 21, 1996). As the Election Officer stated in Braxton, P-304-LU623-PHL (May 21, 1991):
The fact that campaign statements . . . were allegedly false or even defamatory does not remove [them] from the protection of the Rules. The model for free and fair Union elections is that of partisan political elections . . . The cardinal principle is that the best remedy for untrue speech is more free speech, with the electorate being the final arbiter.
Therefore, the Election Officer finds that the remarks by the charged parties about
Mr. Cannestro, Sr. did not violate the Rules.
Lastly, the protester contends that Ms. Gasman utilized IBT resources to obtain
Mr. Carey’s home telephone number and to pay for telephone calls to him from her home in Kentucky, in violation of the Rules.[2]
Ms. Gasman submitted telephone records to the Election Officer which demonstrate that she utilized her personal telephone credit card to get Mr. Carey’s telephone number through directory assistance and to telephone his home.
For the foregoing reasons, the protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter. The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal. Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:
Kenneth Conboy, Esq.
Latham & Watkins
885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10022
Fax (212) 751-4864
Stephen Greenwell
March 4, 1996
Page 1
Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 N. Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Zack Quindel
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
J. Griffin Morgan, Regional Coordinator
[1]Mr. Carey works for Air Canada in Tampa, Florida where he serves as steward.
Mr. Carey states that due to the distance between Tampa and Miami, where the local union is based, he has minimal contact with officers and business agents other than Mr. Greenwell, or with members outside Air Canada.
[2]Article XII, Section 1(a)(3) states that “[n]o Union funds or other things of value shall be used . . . to promote the candidacy of any individual.”