August 14, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
George Kieffer
2580 Miller Street
Lakewood, CO 80215
Roman R. Garcia, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 435
2941 W. 19th Avenue
Denver, CO 80204
Re: Election Office Case Nos. P-854-LU435-RMT
P-855-LU435-RMT
Gentlemen:
Related pre-election protests were filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by
George Kieffer, a member of Local Union 435. Mr. Kieffer alleges that material supporting the candidacy of James Hoffa has been posted on locked, glass-enclosed union bulletin boards at the Safeway warehouse and King Soopers transportation office under the jurisdiction of Local Union 435.
Bulletin boards at these same work sites were involved in Kieffer, P-745-LU435-RMT and P-746-LU435-RMT (May 9, 1996). On July 11, 1996, Mr. Kieffer advised the Election Officer that the local union had failed to comply with the Election Officer’s decision in Kieffer. Because this case involves the same workplace, the Election Officer addresses the matter of non-compliance in this decision.
Roman Garcia, secretary-treasurer of Local Union 435, responds that he has ordered local union personnel to cease posting campaign material but that his orders have been ignored. He states that whoever is posting the material is not doing so under the authority of the local union.
George Kieffer
August 14, 1996
Page 1
Adjunct Regional Coordinator Zeik Saidman supervised the investigation of these protests. The investigation was conducted by Kenneth A. Goldstein.
These protests are the culmination of a series of protests involving campaign postings in locked bulletin boards to which the local union has access. In April 1996, Mr. Kieffer filed two protests alleging access to the same bulletin boards protested here had been granted to Hoffa supporters but denied to Carey supporters. During the investigation, Mr. Garcia stated that the pro-Hoffa posting had been made without his knowledge or consent and that the literature was removed as soon as he became aware of it. Because a candidate had received a benefit from which other candidates were excluded, however, she granted the protest and ordered that literature in support of Mr. Carey be posted on the relevant bulletin boards for seven days. See Kieffer, supra.
On May 17, 1996, Mr. Kieffer filed another protest alleging discriminatory access because pro-Hoffa material was posted on a glass-enclosed, locked bulletin board at Park Corp. The Election Officer issued her decision on June 4, 1996. See Kieffer, P-774-LU435-RMT, Post-24-LU435-RMT (June 4, 1996), aff’d, 96 - Elec. App. - 198 (KC) (June 13, 1996). Again, she found no evidence that Mr. Garcia authorized or knowingly tolerated the campaign-related posting. Nevertheless, because the Hoffa campaign received a benefit denied the Carey campaign, she granted the protest and ordered that the local union post pro-Carey material on the bulletin board at Park Corp. for at least 21 days. She also ordered the local union to cease and desist from allowing campaign-related material to be displayed on glass-enclosed bulletin boards under the control of the local union.
At the end of her decision, the Election Officer warned the local union that, “[s]hould the nondiscriminatory access to bulletin boards continue to be violated, the Election Officer will order Local Union 435 to provide immediate access to all glass-enclosed bulletin boards to all candidates for International office for the remainder of the campaign period.” Id.
The investigation into the current protests, P-854-LU435-RMT and P-855-LU435-RMT, revealed that pro-Hoffa literature was posted on a glass enclosed, locked union bulletin board at a Safeway warehouse facility and on a similar bulletin board at the King Soopers transportation office in the Denver area. These are the same bulletin boards that were the subject of the protests in P-745-LU435-RMT and P-746-LU435-RMT described above. The presence of pro-Hoffa material on a bulletin board inaccessible to supporters of Ron Carey clearly violates the requirement of the Rules that any bulletin board access be nondiscriminatory.
George Kieffer
August 14, 1996
Page 1
In addition to these new violations, Mr. Kieffer has complained to the Election Officer that the local union failed to comply with her previous order regarding the Safeway warehouse facility in Kieffer. On July 8, 1996, Mr. Garcia filed an affidavit of compliance with the Election Officer stating that, “On 7/5/96, Local Union 435 posted a one-page piece of campaign literature in support of Mr. Carey on the glass-encased bulletin board located at the Safeway Warehouse and King Soopers Transportation facilities.”[1] During a further compliance investigation prompted by the current protest, the manager of the Safeway warehouse facility, Don Grambuch stated that materials supporting Ron Carey had never been placed on the bulletin board. Mr. Grambuch stated that Carey campaign materials had been placed on the tables in the break room but not inside the enclosed bulletin board. This statement calls into question whether the posting attested to by Mr. Garcia in his affidavit of July 8, 1996 ever occurred. This question of complaince and continuing violations involving these bulletin boards requires a remedy that will make the bulletin boards available for the campaign literature of all candidates for International office.
Mr. Garcia’s argument that the local union is not responsible for the posting of pro-Hoffa campaign material because the postings are not authorized by the local union is without merit. As indicated by the history set forth above, the local union has been advised to properly monitor its bulletin boards. All of these cases have involved bulletin boards where a key is needed to access the board. If Mr. Garcia suspects that an unauthorized individual has a key to the bulletin boards, it is his responsibility, as principal officer of the local union, to correct the problem.
Accordingly, the protest is GRANTED.
Having found that the Rules have been violated, the Election Officer “may take whatever remedial action is appropriate.” Article XIV, Section 4. In fashioning the appropriate remedy, the Election Officer views the seriousness of the violation, as well as its potential for interfering with the election process. In assigning a remedy in this case, the Election Officer must consider the local union’s past record of Rules compliance.
Because of the continuing violations regarding discriminatory access to the local union’s bulletin boards and evidence that the local union failed to comply with the previous order involving the bulletin board at the Safeway warehouse and by its failure to properly police the bulletin boards to ensure they were not used for campaigning, the Election Officer has no choice but to broaden the remedy for such violations to include full access of all candidates to bulletin boards on which campaign material has been posted.
This continuing pattern of violations indicates that the administration of Local
Union 435 is unable to control what is posted on its bulletin boards. In order to prevent further Rules violation, therefore, the Election Officer orders that the glass-enclosed bulletin boards at the Safeway warehouse facility and the King Soopers transportation office be made available to all candidates for International office and their supporters for the duration of the campaign period. Accordingly:
George Kieffer
August 14, 1996
Page 1
1) Local Union 435 is hereby directed to unlock these bulletin boards within two (2) days of the receipt of this decision;
2) Local Union 435 will leave these bulletin boards unlocked until after the completion of the International officer elections;
3) Mr. Garcia is directed to sign and post the enclosed notice on all local union bulletin boards at the Safeway warehouse facility, the King Soopers transportation office and at the local union within five (5) days of the receipt of this decision; and
4) Within two (2) days of this posting, Mr. Garcia will submit to the Election Officer an affidavit indicating compliance with all requirements of this decision.
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:
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, D.C. 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
Zeik Saidman, Adjunct Regional Coordinator
NOTICE TO ALL LOCAL UNION 435 MEMBERS
The Election Officer has determined that campaign material was posted on local union bulletin boards in violation of the Election Rules governing the delegate and International officer elections. A local union is not required to allow the posting of campaign literature on its bulletin boards, but if it provides access to one candidate, it must provide access to all. This is the fifth time the Election Officer has determined that Local Union 435 has failed to provide equal access to its bulletin boards for the purpose of posting campaign materials.
As a result of the repeated violations, the Election Officer has ordered that the bulletin boards at Safeway’s warehouse facility and King Soopers transportation office be left unlocked so that members may post campaign materials concerning the 1996 International officer election.
____________________________
Roman R. Garcia, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 435
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.
[1]Compliance occurred later than ordered by the Election Officer due to a dispute between the parties as to whether the campaign literature supplied “supported Mr. Carey” rather than potential candidates for local union office.