November 19, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Debra McBride
November 19, 1996
Page 1
Debra McBride
6240 Meadow Lane
Salisbury, NC 28147
John A. “Tony” Ford, President
Teamsters Local Union 71
5000 N. Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28213
United Parcel Service
1301 Old Concord
Salisbury, NC 28144
Martin Wald
Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis
1600 Market Street, Suite 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Debra McBride
November 19, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-1188-LU71-SEC
Gentlepersons:
A pre-election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by
Debra McBride, a member of Local Union 71. Ms. McBride alleges that UPS terminated her employment because she was actively campaigning for the Ron Carey No Corruption-No Dues Increase slate. Specifically, Ms. McBride states that UPS videotaped her leafleting on behalf of the Carey campaign at a UPS facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, and attending a Carey fundraising dinner in Burlington, North Carolina.
In response, UPS denies terminating Ms. McBride because of her campaign activity. UPS states that Ms. McBride was terminated for fraud. The company states that Ms. McBride was videotaped in the course of an investigation undertaken by UPS’s insurance carrier in connection with a workers’ compensation claim filed by the protester. UPS’s position is that Ms. McBride was terminated because the videotape showed that she was not as disabled as she had alleged while collecting workers’ compensation benefits.
This protest was investigated by Regional Coordinator J. Griffin Morgan.
Debra McBride
November 19, 1996
Page 1
The investigation disclosed that Ms. McBride is a 20-year UPS employee, working as a package car driver at UPS’s center in Salisbury, North Carolina. She is an active IBT member, having campaigned in support of Mr. Carey in 1991 and 1996. In 1995,
Ms. McBride suffered a work-related back injury. Ms. McBride was out of work from
July 1995 until October 17, 1996. She returned to work on October 17, but on October 23 was taken from work by ambulance to the hospital after complaining of back pain and spasms.
UPS states that its workers’ compensation insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual, investigated Ms. McBride and found that she engaged in several activities demonstrating that she did not have the disability she had alleged.[1] Therefore, it terminated her for fraud.
The investigation revealed that pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement between UPS and the union, a grievance has been filed by the local union concerning the termination of Ms. McBride. The Election Officer has determined to defer her decision in this matter until the conclusion of the grievance procedure pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement. Pursuant to the Rules, the Election Officer has jurisdiction and authority to determine the instant protest on its merits. Further, the Election Officer is not bound, in whole or in part, by the decision reached in the grievance proceedings or by any findings of fact and conclu-sions of law made during the grievance procedure. See Golubovic, P-025-LU710-CHI
(July 21, 1995); Star Market, P-760-LU25-ENG, aff’d, 91 - Elec. App. - 187, aff’d, U.S. v. IBT, 776 F.Supp. 144, aff’d, 954 F.2d 801 (2d Cir. 1992).
Thus, while the Election Officer will defer her decision in this matter, she has the authority to conduct an independent investigation of the allegations of the protest and issue a decision on the merits of the protest based upon her determination and evaluation of the evidence presented to her in such independent investigation. Ms. McBride is advised to inform the Election Officer of the outcome of this matter following completion of the grievance procedure under the collective bargaining agreement.
Based upon the foregoing, the protest is DEFERRED.
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
Debra McBride
November 19, 1996
Page 1
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
J. Griffin Morgan, Regional Coordinator
[1]These activities included campaigning for the Carey campaign.