June 14, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
James P. Hoffa
2593 Hounds Chase
Troy, MI 48098
Gary LaBarbera, Trustee
Teamsters Local Union 282
2500 Marcus Avenue
Lake Success, NY 11042
Ron Carey, General President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
John Sullivan, Associate General Counsel
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-784-LU282-NYC
Gentlemen:
James P. Hoffa, a member of Local Union 614 and candidate for general president, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules") alleging that Local Union 282 Trustee
Gary LaBarbera violated the Rules by refusing to permit one of Mr. Hoffa's supporters, Local Union 707 Member Kevin Currie, to campaign in the parking lot outside Local Union 282's hall before and during a general membership meeting. Mr. Hoffa also alleges that Mr. LaBarbera violated the Rules by allowing other Local Union 707 members into the hall to accompany General President Ron Carey, who spoke at the meeting, after Mr. LaBarbera announced that the meeting would be closed to non-Local Union 282 members. Mr. Hoffa further contends that
Mr. Carey was aware of this alleged Rules violation and did not take steps to remedy it.
Mr. LaBarbera responds that he closed the meeting due to rumors that it might be disrupted. However, he states that several members of other local unions accompanied
Mr. Carey for security reasons. Due to the rumors, and also due to his expectation of large attendance, Mr. LaBarbera also refused to permit non-Local Union 282 members and their cars into the parking lot at the back of the local union hall. He states that he stationed Local Union 282 members at the entrances to the lot, and told them to tell persons intending to campaign that they could do so on the sidewalk at the front of the building.
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
This protest was investigated by New York City Protest Coordinator Barbara C. Deinhardt.
On May 23, 1996, starting at about 7:00 pm, Local Union 282 held a general membership meeting at its hall. At Mr. LaBarbera's request, Mr. Carey spoke on the trusteeship of the local union and on certain jurisdictional matters. Mr. LaBarbera states that it was agreed that there would be no campaigning at the meeting.
Mr. Currie learned of the meeting and decided to campaign for Mr. Hoffa in the parking lot before it began. He states that he arrived between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm and was refused admittance at the main gate. When he said that he wanted to pass out Hoffa literature, he states that the persons at the gate told him that only Local Union 282 members could enter. Mr. Currie then parked his car outside of a side gate to the lot and attempted to enter by that gate. Persons at that gate also refused to admit him, stating that they were acting under the direction of
Mr. LaBarbera. When the meeting was over, Mr. Currie entered the parking lot and engaged in campaigning.
Mr. Currie asserts that he was not told that he could campaign in front of the building. Moreover, he states,
All of the Union members, except maybe the select leadership, go in the rear door. That's where the books are checked. The only way to get there is through the parking lot. It would have been useless to try to campaign in front of the building--cars were going in the gate but no one was going in the front of the building.
Article VIII, Section 11(a) provides,
All Union members retain the right to participate in campaign activities, including the right to . . . support or oppose any candidate [and] to aid or campaign for any candidate . . . . This includes, but is not limited to, the right to distribute campaign literature and to otherwise solicit support for a member's candidacy outside a meeting hall before, during and after a Union meeting, regardless of Union policy, rule or practice.
The right to campaign outside a local union hall before, during, and after a meeting cannot be restrained by the local union. See, e.g., Passo, P-469-LU705-CHI et seq. (February 29, 1996), aff'd in relevant part, 96 - Elec. App. 124 (KC) (March 13, 1996). Mr. LaBarbera violated the Rules when he closed Local Union 282's parking lot to campaigning by non-Local Union 282 members, such as Mr. Currie.
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
The fundamental goal of the Consent Decree and the Rules is a fair, open, and democratic election process. The ability of candidates and members to engage in face-to-face campaigning is critical to that process. Thus, the Rules create and enforce a right for members to enter upon employer premises to campaign in parking lots used by members. Article VIII, Section 11(e). As Judge Edelstein stated in affirming that right, "the only way to ensure that each candidate has a meaningful opportunity to meet with the electorate and to explain his or her views is to provide candidates with [such] a right . . ." United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE) (SDNY slip op. August 22, 1995, at 40).
The analogous right of members to campaign outside local union halls is specifically protected by the Rules and is no less important. As Mr. LaBarbera acknowledged during the investigation of this protest, "[m]ost people that were parking in the lot would congregate in the back of the building and go into the building through the back entrance." Thus, closing the lot to Mr. Currie deprived him of the ability to campaign in exactly the place where it might be effective. The sidewalk in front of the building was not an adequate substitute in practice or under the Rules.
Mr. LaBarbera defends his decision by stating his concern that if members who wanted to start trouble even got into the parking lot, they might start an altercation with the Local
Union 282 members who often congregated in the area in back of the building. The remedy in that case would have been to call the police. The Election Officer will not condone the prohibition of legitimate campaigning in the name of preventing possible confrontation that could have been handled appropriately in a different way.
With respect to the meeting itself, the Election Officer finds that no campaigning took place. Therefore, the way in which it was conducted, and the persons allowed or not allowed into the local union hall, do not constitute a violation of the Rules. Accordingly, the Election Officer will not address the allegation that Mr. LaBarbera improperly allowed certain non-Local Union 282 members into the hall and not others, or that Mr. Carey was aware of this alleged violation and did nothing about it.
For the reasons stated above, this protest is GRANTED with respect to the prevention of Mr. Currie's campaigning outside the Local Union 282 hall before and during the general membership meeting, and DENIED in all other respects.
When the Election Officer determines that the Rules have been violated, she "may take whatever remedial action is appropriate." Article XIV, Section 4. In fashioning the appropriate remedy, the Election Officer views the nature and seriousness of the violation, as well as its potential for interfering with the election process.
In this matter, the Election Officer notes that Mr. Currie was able to campaign outside the Local Union 282 hall after the general membership meeting was over. Therefore, he still had an opportunity to engage in face-to-face campaigning with Local Union 282's members, despite
Mr. LaBarbera's violation of the Rules. In such circumstances, the Election Officer does not find it necessary or warranted to create a special opportunity for campaigning at a Local Union 282 meeting by Mr. Hoffa's supporters, as Mr. Hoffa requests in his protest.
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
(1) To prevent a reoccurrence of such a violation, the Election Officer orders
Mr. LaBarbera to cease and desist from depriving Union members of their right under the Rules to campaign outside of the Local Union 282 hall before, during, and after meetings.
(2) The Election Officer further orders Mr. LaBarbera, within two (2) days of the receipt of this decision, to execute the attached notice and to post it on all Local Union 282 bulletin boards at the local union hall. The notice must remain posted for thirty (30) days. Within five (5) days of the posting of the notice, Mr. LaBarbera shall execute and file an affidavit describing in detail his compliance with the provisions of this order.
(3) The Election Officer also finds that it is appropriate to take note of the fact that
Mr. LaBarbera, as the IBT appointed trustee of Local Union 282, is directly responsible to the IBT for his conduct in performing his duties. In In Re: Hoffa, 96 - Elec. App. - 196 (KC)
(June 11, 1996), the Election Appeals Master stated that the allegations involved in that case and others,
raise the troubling possibility that the IBT administration is not taking a sufficiently assertive role in ensuring that its appointed trustees adhere to the Rules. Thus, I again admonish the Election Officer to consider remedies imposing derivative liability in future relevant matters and direct her to examine the adequacy of the IBT's efforts to encourage local unions under trusteeship to adhere to the Rules, should there be any additional cases involving misconduct by a trustee.
The Election Officer requires strict attention to the Rules. Accordingly, the Election Officer orders that the IBT send the attached memorandum to all local unions under IBT trusteeship, within five (5) days of the date of this decision. Within five (5) days of sending the notice to all recipients, the IBT shall execute and file an affidavit describing in detail its compliance with the provisions of this order.
An order of the Election Officer, unless otherwise stayed, takes immediate effect against a party found to be in violation of the Rules. In Re: Lopez, 96 - Elec. App. - 73 (KC) (February 13, 1996).
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:
James P. Hoffa
June 14, 1996
Page 1
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
Barbara C. Deinhardt, New York City Protest Coordinator
NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF LOCAL UNION 282
FROM TRUSTEE GARY LaBARBERA
The Election Officer has found that I violated the Election Rules when I prevented campaigning by a non-Local Union 282 member outside of the Local Union 282 hall before and during the general membership meeting on May 23, 1996.
I understand that IBT members have the right to campaign for or against candidates in the International officer election outside the union hall before and during the general membership meetings. I will not restrict such rights under the Election Rules.
______________________________
GARY LaBARBERA, Trustee
This is an official notice which must remain posted for 30 consecutive days and must not be defaced or altered in any manner or be covered with any other material.
Approved by Barbara Zack Quindel, IBT Election Officer.
ON INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS LETTERHEAD
M E M O R A N D U M
[Date]
To: All Trustees for Local Unions in Trusteeship
From: Ron Carey
General President
Re: Conformity with the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election ("Rules")
The Election Officer has granted protests finding violations of the Rules by IBT-appointed trustees in several cases, including the following:
Walston, P-128-LU743-CHI- business agents distributed candidate petitions to stewards at worksites where they had no other reason for being at that property in violation of Article VIII, Section 11(b).
Hoffa, et al., P-133-IBT-CHI, et seq.- local union violated Article VIII, Section 5 by permitting candidate to campaign at banquet without granting other candidates equal access and permission to hear the speech.
Lopez, P-242-LU743-SCE - permitting use of phrase “Putting Members First” in union-financed publication represented an endorsement of the Carey campaign by the local union.
Lopez, P-287-LU743-CHI - continued use of phrase “Putting Members First” in union-financed publication.
Lopez, P-513-LU743-CHI - purchasing and distributing local union buttons which appropriated the colors of the Carey campaign buttons.
Hoffa, P-689-LU1043-SEC - Using union resources to announce a campaign rally.
Hoffa, P-769-LU471-SCE - Using union financed publication to support and attack candidates in violation of Article VIII, Section 8(a).
Salters, E-012-LU819-EOH, Washington, E-013-LU819-EOH - Trustee's finding of a member ineligible to run as delegate when no jurisdiction to render such determinations.
The repeated nature of these violations is of great concern to the Election Officer as she has ordered that the IBT administration take an assertive and affirmative role to ensure that the IBT's appointed trustees adhere to the Rules.
The IBT expects strict adherence to the Rules by all trustees. You are hereby instructed to carefully review the Election Rules and should you have any question as to whether contemplated actions or decisions may implicate the Election Rules, please contact ** in the IBT Legal Department. By this notice, trustees are instructed to take appropriate steps to ensure that persons with responsibility for relevant aspects of the operation of trusteed local unions are familiar with and obey relevant aspects of the Election Rules.
Approved by Barbara Zack Quindel, IBT Election Officer