October 9, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
John Clancy
October 9, 1996
Page 1
John Clancy
5028 Lamb Drive
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
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
Ron Carey Campaign
c/o Nathaniel Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Bradley Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond,
Ferrara & Feldman, P.C.
32300 Northwestern Highway
Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
John Clancy
October 9, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-1052-IBT-EOH
Gentlemen:
John Clancy, a member of Local Union 705, filed a pre-election protest pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) against the IBT. Mr. Clancy objects to the placement of an article entitled “International Officer Election - How to Cast Your Vote” in the October 1996 edition of the Teamster magazine. According to the protester, the article is “conveniently placed just opposite of the Carey slate campaign page, definitely trying to tie the correct way to vote with the Carey Campaign.” Mr. Clancy further suggests that “[T]he material in question should have been separated by an unbiased page as to not attempt to lead voters one way or the other.”
The protest was investigated by Protest Chief Benetta Mansfield.
John Clancy
October 9, 1996
Page 1
Those members who were nominated for International office at the IBT Convention have a right to utilize space in the Teamster magazine for the purpose of advancing their respective campaigns. This right is regulated by the Rules at Article VIII, Section 10. Under Section 10(a), each nominated candidate may publish campaign material in the September, October and November 1996 issues of the Teamster.
In preparing the presentation of candidate materials, the Election Officer must comply with several requirements. Each nominated candidate is provided with a certain number of pages per issue by Section 10(a)(1). Space may be “pooled” among the various candidates under Section 10(a)(2). The order of presentation of candidate material is determined by a lot drawing, with the position of slates rotated in the following issues under Article VIII, Section 10(b). After this lottery was held, the Election Officer further agreed to permit each slate of candidates to choose whether their campaign material would begin on the right side or the left side of the page.
The production of the magazine requires that the Election Officer notify the IBT of the number of pages she is reserving for campaign materials in advance of the actual submission of candidate material in order that they can plan to use the rest of the pages for their regular magazine. The Election Officer must base this page count on the page allotment to candidates under the Rules, the rotation of material as required by the lottery, and the starting page preferences that the Election Officer agreed to honor. In addition, if there is a blank page between the end of one slate’s material and the beginning of the next slate, the Election Officer decided to fill that page with election-related material rather than have the IBT run any copy on that page.
In the case of the October issue, the advance page count given to the IBT had to be changed after submission of materials due to a slate and a candidate not utilizing their full allotment. This would have created a blank page previously reserved by the Election Officer at the end of the campaign materials. The Election Officer decided to place the voting instruction page in this space rather than leaving this page blank or requesting the IBT to insert additional material. In the October 1991 issue of the magazine, the Election Officer also inserted similar voting instructions within the candidate materials. Inevitably when this occurs, the Election Officer’s material follows a particular slate or candidate’s material.
The placement of the voting instructions in the October 1996 magazine does not convey any message to only vote for the candidate whose material is most proximate to the Election Officer material. The Election Officer concludes, therefore, that the placement of the “How to Cast Your Vote” article in the October 1996 issue of the Teamster is in compliance with the Rules and does not favor any candidate, slate or campaign.
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
John Clancy
October 9, 1996
Page 1
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, 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