November 27, 1996
VIA UPS OVERNIGHT
Archie Cook
November 27, 1996
Page 1
Archie J. Cook
4508 Balmoral Drive
Richton Park, IL 60471
Ron Carey Campaign
c/o Nathaniel Charny
Cohen, Weiss & Simon
330 W. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Gerald Zero, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local Union 705
1645 W. Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60612
Bradley T. Raymond
Finkel, Whitefield, Selik, Raymond,
Ferrara & Feldman
32300 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Archie Cook
November 27, 1996
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. P-1287-LU705-EOH
Gentlemen:
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
Archie J. Cook, a member of Local Union 705. Mr. Cook alleges that members of Local
Union 705 who support the candidacy of James P. Hoffa, a candidate for general president, have been intentionally omitted from the membership data submitted by the local union to the election officer in order to prevent these members from receiving a ballot, in violation of the Rules.
Election Office Staff Attorney Jonathan K. O’Neill investigated the protest.
During the investigation, Mr. Cook provided the names of two Local Union 705 members who, according to the protester, support Mr. Hoffa’s candidacy and were not mailed ballots when ballots were sent to the membership on November 7, 1996. The investigation revealed that neither of these individuals were included on the membership address list provided to the Election Officer by Local Union 705.
Archie Cook
November 27, 1996
Page 1
Local Union 705 does not maintain records on the TITAN system. As a result, the local union provides membership data directly to the Election Officer, whose data consultant reviews the submitted list against prior records to determine whether substantial changes in membership numbers have occurred. This examination did not reveal any suspicious fluctuation in the number of members in Local Union 705. The local union provided its membership data to the Election Officer prior to the mailing of ballots.
The investigation revealed that the two individuals named by the protester were not included on the membership list because of their particular situations. One of the named members was terminated by UPS just prior to the generation of the membership list. In keeping with local union policy, the individual’s membership was deactivated as of the date of his discharge. The local union does not reactivate such members unless the member begins to pay his or her dues in cash. Cash payments by this member started after the local union provided the list to the Election Officer. Thus, his name did not appear on the list and he was not initially mailed a ballot.
The other identified individual was on layoff until October 9, 1996, when he reactivated his membership by self-paying his dues. As a result of a local union computer error, his record showed him as active, but with a “zero” dues rate.
In preparing for this mail ballot election, the Election Officer recognizes that for a variety of reasons some small fraction of members who are eligible to receive a ballot may not get one in the initial mailing. Because of this, the Election Office operates a toll-free telephone number for members to call if they have not received their ballot. A reminder to call the toll-free number if a member does not receive a ballot is contained in the Notice of Election, published in English, French and Spanish in the October and November/December issues of The Teamster magazine. Under the Rules, the Notice is also placed on local union bulletin boards at work sites.
The investigation revealed that these two individuals did, in fact, contact the Election Officer via the “800” number to receive ballots and ballots have been mailed to them.
The protester presented no evidence that these members’ names were omitted from the list because of their political affiliations. In addition, while the protester claims that the protested omissions are wide-scale amongst Local Union 705 members who support Mr. Hoffa’s candidacy, he provided no evidence other than the names of the two above-referenced individuals. The omission of their names and data have been adequately explained by the local union and procedures established by the Election Officer to remedy such situations have operated as intended.
Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.
Archie Cook
November 27, 1996
Page 1
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
Leroy Ellis, Jr., Stand Up for Teamsters Slate