April 5, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Douglas Frechin
April 5, 1996
Page 1
Douglas Frechin
7515 181st Place, SW
Edmonds, WA 98026
Dan Hazard, Operations Manager
Yellow Freight
11231 E. Marginal Way, S.
Seattle, WA 98168
Gregg Sidmund, Terminal Manager
Yellow Freight
11231 E. Marginal Way, S.
Seattle, WA 98168
Douglas Frechin
April 5, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-488-LU174-PNW
Gentlemen:
This 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 Doug Frechin, a member of Local Union 174. The protester alleges that Yellow Freight Operations Manager Dan Hazard and Terminal Manager Gregg Sigmund impermissibly removed campaign literature from a general purpose bulletin board located at the employer’s facility, in violation of the Rules. The Election Officer deferred this protest for post-election review, pursuant to her authority under Article XIV, Section 2(f)(2) of the Rules.
The protest was investigated by Regional Coordinator Christine Mrak.
In response to the allegations, Mr. Hazard and Mr. Sigmund neither admit nor deny having removed the literature.
The Election Officer’s investigation found that on a half-dozen occasions, campaign literature posted by Mr. Frechin and Rich Kraft, a member of Local Union 174, was removed from general purpose bulletin boards located on the employer’s premise. The last such occasion occurred on February 12. No one witnessed the removal of the literature.
Douglas Frechin
April 5, 1996
Page 1
Mr. Sigmund was contacted by a representative of the Election Officer in an effort to resolve this protest. Subsequently, the removal of literature ceased, and the Election Officer’s representative spoke with Mr. Sigmund to advise him that the time frame for the International officer election extended through December 1996. Mr. Sigmund agreed that the company would not interfere with the continued posting of campaign literature on Yellow Freight bulletin boards.
As a result, the employer’s interference with the protester’s posting ceased after
February 12, a significant period prior to the counting of the ballots on March 6, 1996. In addition, there is no evidence to show that other candidates received an advantage from this removal or that the policy of campaign literature removal was not applied equally.
In consideration of the foregoing, this protest is RESOLVED.
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
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
Christine Mrak, Regional Coordinator