Protest Decisions

              March 22, 1996

VIA UPS OVERNIGHT

Gary L. Clark

270 Kerry Lane

Highland, MI 48357

Jim Cianciolo, President

Teamsters Local Union 243

2741 Trumbull Avenue

Detroit, MI 48216

Re:  Election Office Case Nos.              P-613-LU243-MGN

P-614-LU243-MGN

Gentlemen:

Gary L. Clark, a member of Local Union 243 and a candidate for delegate from that local union on a slate opposing a local officers’ slate, filed pre-election protests pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”). These protests concern the mailing list provided by Local Union 243 to the ABC Mailers mailing house for Mr. Clark’s campaign mailings. In P-613-LU243-MGN, Mr. Clark claims that the membership mailing list was not sorted by the zip code of members’ addresses, resulting in unnecessary and unreasonable charges for postage.  In P-614-LU243-MGN, Mr. Clark alleges that the mailing list was inaccurately inflated and that names were added to the list “for voting purposes.”

Gary Clark

March 22, 1996

Page 1

As to the zip codes, Local Union 243 responds that Mr. Clark did not ask that the list be sorted by zip code.  It further responds that a list prepared for a delegate candidate slate headed by a local officer was likewise not sorted by zip code and thereby resulted in costs to that slate identical to those incurred by Mr. Clark and his slate.  At the time Local Union 243 prepared the mailing lists, it was not aware that its membership lists on the TITAN system could be sorted by zip code.  As to the number of names on the mailing list, Local Union 243 responds that the list used by the local officers’ delegate slate had exactly the same number of names (4,883) as that provided to Mr. Clark.

Regional Coordinator William A. Wertheimer, Jr. investigated the protest.

Article VIII, Section 7 of the Rules requires that campaign mailings be processed at a reasonable cost, in a non-discriminatory manner and that the local union use a current mailing list of its members.

Mr. Clark did not request that the list be sorted by zip code.  The local union slate also did not use a zip code sort for its list.  Mr. Clark alleges that the local union should have been aware that sorting by zip code would have reduced the mailing costs by four cents per envelope.  The local union, however, was unaware that the list could be sorted by zip code.  Although the cost could have been less, the Election Officer does not find the charges made were unreasonable or that the protester’s mailing was treated in a discriminatory manner.  Therefore, there is no violation of the Rules.

As to the number of names on the mailing list, the list given to Mr. Clark had the same number of names as the list used by the local officers’ slate.  The 4,883 names on the list is only eight more than the number of ballots mailed on March 11 for the delegates’ election.  Accordingly, the Election Officer finds that the number of members is a normal fluctuation and does not state a violation of the Rules.  There is no evidence that the local union added any names to help the officers’ slate in the election.[1]

Accordingly, the protests are 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

Gary Clark

March 22, 1996

Page 1

Gary Clark

March 22, 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

William A. Wertheimer, Jr., Regional Coordinator