October 3, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Steve Vairma
October 3, 1996
Page 1
Steve Vairma
2275 S. Coors Court
Lakewood, CO 80228
George Kieffer
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Robert Newhouse
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Alan Frisbee
3440 Youngfield Street #101
Wheatridge, CO 80033
Ron Carey Campaign
c/o Nathaniel Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Steve Vairma
October 3, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case Nos. P-981-LU435-RMT
P-1026-LU435-RMT
P-1042-LU435-RMT
Gentlemen:
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 Steve Vairma, a member of Local Union 435. In each of these protests, Mr. Vairma alleges that the campaign of Ron Carey, the incumbent general president and a candidate for reelection, has provided a Local Union 435 membership list to members of Local Union 435’s “Teamsters for Justice” officer slate to campaign for local union office, in violation of the Rules. Because of the related nature of these allegations, the protests were consolidated by the Election Officer.
In P-981-LU435-RMT, Mr. Vairma alleges that the Teamsters for Justice slate used the membership list to conduct a campaign phone bank. In P-1026-LU435-RMT and P-1042-LU435-RMT, he alleges that the list was used to generate mailing labels for campaign literature. Both uses were for the local union officers election.
Steve Vairma
October 3, 1996
Page 1
George Kieffer, a member of the Teamsters for Justice slate, responds that the information used for the telephone solicitations and the mailings was compiled over a number of years through the efforts of himself and the other members of his slate. He denies that the Carey campaign provided his slate with a membership list.
Robert Newhouse, also a member of the Teamsters for Justice slate, responds that he has been collecting data on local union members for approximately 20 years. He states that he has used seniority lists, information provided at fundraisers and campaign events, and other sources, including commercially available computer databases, to compile the protested list. Mr. Newhouse admits that he requested a membership list from the Carey campaign for the delegate election but states that he never received one.
Michael L. Murphy, field coordinator and list coordinator for the Carey campaign, states that the Carey campaign did not release the list or any portion of the list to members of the Teamsters for Justice slate nor indeed to “anyone at Local 435.”
Associate Regional Coordinator Zeik Saidman investigated the protest.
Article VIII, Section 3 of the Rules states, in relevant part:
The Election Officer is authorized to release a copy of the appropriate membership list to an accredited or nominated candidate for International office forty-five (45) days before the date for mailing of ballots for an election for Convention delegates and/or alternate delegates or for the election of International Officers. No membership list may be used for any purpose other than advancing the accredited or nominated candidate’s campaign for nomination and/or election . . . A violation of this paragraph is punishable by contempt, pursuant to the Opinion and Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Hon. David N. Edelstein), dated August 22, 1995.
During the investigation, Messrs. Newhouse and Kieffer explained the resources they use to generate membership data. They state that they have used resources--including seniority lists, telephone directories, computer directories containing general address information, and information gathered at campaign events--to create a database for use in their campaign. Mr. Newhouse states that, while additions are constantly being made to the database, he currently has name and address information for fewer than 3,000 of the more than 4,900 active Local Union 435 members.
Steve Vairma
October 3, 1996
Page 1
The Election Officer determines that these methods could reasonably produce the data that the Teamsters for Justice slate has demonstrated that it possesses. Mr. Vairma has presented no evidence to support his allegation that the Carey campaign provided a membership list. He states only that it is “impossible” to construct a list without receiving information from either the local union or one of the campaigns. There is no evidence that the Carey campaign provided the data used bu the Teamsters for Justice slate. Further, the allegation that the charged parties obtained the list from the local union for use in local officer elections lies outside the jurisdiction of the Election Officer. See Engelbert, P-698-LU670-PNW (June 7, 1996).
The Election Officer takes allegations of misuse of member ship lists very seriously. See Cipriani, et al., P-420-LU391-SEC, et seq. (March 1, 1995), aff’d, 95 - Elec. App. - 123 (KC) (March 13, 1996); Baudo, P-702-JC39-NCE (May 10, 1996); Hoffa, P-770-LU743-EOH
(June 21, 1996), aff’d, 96 - Elec. App. - 210 (KC) (July 11, 1996). Article XIV, Section 1 of the Rules, however, places the burden on the complainants “to present evidence that a violation has occurred.” Further, the Election Appeals Master has stated that the protester bears the initial burden of proof to offer evidence substantiating his allegations. In Re: Chentnik, 95 - Elec. App. - 52 (KC) (January 10, 1996).
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
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