October 1, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Sylvia Salazar
October 1, 1996
Page 1
Sylvia A. Salazar
13063 Birch Avenue
Thornton, CO 80241
George Kieffer
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Robert Newhouse
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Douglas Brees
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Alan Frisbee
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Mike Brady, Center Manager
United Parcel Service
5020 Ivy Street
Commerce City, CO 80022
Martin Wald
Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis
1600 Market Street, Suite 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Sylvia Salazar
October 1, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-881-LU435-RMT
Gentlepersons:
A pre-election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by Sylvia A. Salazar, a member of Local Union 435. Ms. Salazar alleges that her employer, United Parcel Service (“UPS”), refuses to allow her to wear campaign paraphernalia or display such material inside her truck or on her locker, in violation of the Rules.
Sylvia Salazar
October 1, 1996
Page 1
Specifically, she contends that she was threatened with disciplinary action by UPS General Manager Mike Brady if she continued to wear or display paraphernalia indicating support for James P. Hoffa, a candidate for general president, on her uniform, in her truck or on her locker. She feels such treatment is discriminatory because other UPS employees have been allowed to display material indicating support for Ron Carey, general president and a candidate for reelection, in their lockers, in their trucks and on drivers’ mailslots.
Associate Regional Coordinator Zeik Saidman investigated the protest.
Ms. Salazar is a UPS driver at the Capitol Hill Center. The Capitol Hill Center is part of a large hub complex which includes other centers, such as the Golden and Downtown Centers. Each center within the hub is separately managed.
The investigation revealed that at the end of July, Mr. Brady observed Ms. Salazar wearing a Hoffa campaign button on her uniform at a pre-work meeting. After the meeting, Mr. Brady reminded Ms. Salazar that the company had a strict policy against wearing unauthorized buttons on the UPS uniforms. On August 7, 1996, a UPS supervisor,
Dan Kelly, observed Ms. Salazar with a Hoffa campaign button on her uniform and issued her a verbal warning and wrote her up for an infraction of the rules. During the verbal warning, Ms. Salazar was also advised that she could not paste Hoffa bumper stickers inside her UPS truck or any other UPS property. The reference was to a Hoffa bumper sticker which was inside the cab of the UPS truck driven by Ms. Salazar.
Ms. Salazar also complains that UPS workers at the other centers are permitted to have campaign stickers and buttons on their lockers in the locker room. At the Capitol Hill Center, employees are not permitted to place campaign materials on their lockers.
1. Allegations Regarding the Wearing of a Campaign Button
Ms. Salazar was disciplined for wearing a Hoffa button on her UPS uniform. She has not presented any evidence that other employees are permitted to wear such buttons. UPS states that it has a rigid policy restricting buttons on its uniforms, with limited exceptions for American flag pins, Gulf War pins and the IBT lapel pin.
In the Advisory on Wearing of Campaign Buttons and Other Emblems, the Election Officer made clear that IBT members enjoy a pre-existing right under Article VIII,
Section 11(d) of the Rules to wear campaign buttons. This right, however, may be circumscribed by a member’s employer. As the Election Officer stated:
The employer may prevent the wearing of campaign emblems only where the prohibition is necessary to maintain production and discipline, safety, or preventing alienation of customers. The basis for these limited exceptions is the right of the employer to prevent unrelated third parties from inappropriately assuming that the employer supports the political or campaign position advocated by the employee or the employee’s emblem. UPS v. N.L.R.B., 41 F. 3d 1068 (6th Cir. 1994).
Sylvia Salazar
October 1, 1996
Page 1
In the last IBT election, the Election Officer found that the UPS prohibition did not violate the Election Rules and the permission to wear other small lapel pins did not create a pre-existing right. Epperson, P-779-LU41-MOI (July 18, 1991). There is nothing presented in this protest that would cause the Election Officer to find a violation of the Rules.
2. Allegations Concerning the Prohibition of Campaign Literature in Trucks and on Employee Lockers
Ms. Salazar contends that she was reprimanded for having a Hoffa bumper sticker in the cab of her UPS truck. She also contends that while she was advised that campaign materials cannot be on employee lockers, such materials favoring Ron Carey have been tolerated on employee lockers at other centers.
Article VIII, Section 11(d) of the Rules states:
[N]o restrictions shall be placed upon candidates’ or members’ preexisting rights to solicit support, distribute leaflets or literature, conduct campaign rallies, hold fund- raising events or engage in similar activities on employer or Union premises. Such facilities and opportunities shall be made available to all candidates and members on a nondiscriminatory basis.
UPS maintains separate management for each of its centers. Hence, the Election Officer will look at each center separately in determining whether there is a pre-existing right.
Ms. Salazar has not presented any evidence that UPS officials at the Capitol Hill Center, where she works, have tolerated campaign material for Ron Carey or other candidates on employee lockers.
Ms. Salazar also protests discriminatory treatment in regard to the reprimand she received for having a Hoffa bumper sticker in the cab of her UPS truck. Ms. Salazar has worked for UPS for 16 years and as a driver for 13 years. She states that during her tenure at UPS, the company has permitted all types of stickers in drivers’ cabs--supporting radio stations, political candidates, etc. She claims that she had a button in the bulkhead area of her truck which read, “Be a Voice for Choice,” and UPS never told her to remove that sticker. She also presented a witness who stated that in May or June, she had driven the truck usually assigned to Local Union 435 member Robert Newhouse. On the dashboard of the truck, the witness states that she observed a bumper sticker supporting Mr. Carey. The witness did not report the incident to UPS management, but she removed the bumper sticker.[1]
Sylvia Salazar
October 1, 1996
Page 1
The toleration of other types of stickers on the inside of trucks does not create a “pre-existing right” to affix union election stickers there. The Election Officer has ruled that permitting employees to affix stickers to employer vehicles is a prohibited contribution by an employer. Feeley, P-874-LU817-MGN (September 17, 1996).
Ms. Salazar also claims that UPS has permitted such personal campaigning and that she is being singled out for such discipline because she supports Mr. Hoffa. The Election Officer finds there is no evidence of a pre-existing right to campaign in the locker rooms by placing campaign stickers on such employer property at the Capitol Hill Center. UPS has a right to restrict the posting of campaign literature and paraphernalia on its property. Similarly, UPS has a right to enforce its rule against posting campaign stickers in or on its trucks. The evidence presented by Ms. Salazar of a single bumper sticker in a vehicle at another center three or four months ago, without any indication of employer knowledge, is insufficient to support a claim of discriminatory treatment.
Accordingly, 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
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, Associate Regional Coordinator
[1]Mr. Newhouse does not work in the same center as Ms. Salazar.