October 5, 1998
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
Jerry Halberg
October 5, 1998
Page 1
Jerry Halberg
P.O. Box 78231
Seattle, WA 98178
Diana Kilmury
2612 E. 47th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5S 1C1
Canada
Tom Leedham, Director
Warehouse Division
Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Joan Parker
Education Department
Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Robert A. Hasegawa, Sec.-Treas.
Teamsters Local Union 174
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Michael Laslett,
Director of Organizing
Teamsters Local Union 174
553 John Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Ken Paff
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
7435 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48210
Paul Alan Levy, Esq.
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
David L. Neigus
Deputy General Counsel
Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters
25 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Jerry Halberg
October 5, 1998
Page 1
Re: Election Officer Case No. PR-088-LU174-PNW
Gentlepersons:
Jerry Halberg
October 5, 1998
Page 1
Jerry Halberg, a member of Local Union 174, 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 following: Local Union 174; Diana Kilmury, a member of Local Union 155 and an International vice- president at large; Thomas Leedham, president of Local Union 206, International Western regional vice - president, Director of the IBT Warehouse Division and a candidate for general president; and Joan Parker, a staff member of the IBT Education Department. The protester alleged that Local Union 174 set up a pretextual stewards seminar in order to allow Ms. Kilmury, Mr. Leedham and Ms. Parker to travel to Seattle, Washington at union expense to attend a Reform Slate campaign fundraiser, in violation of the Rules. He further alleged that there would be campaign activity during the course of the stewards seminar.
The charged parties respond that 1) all educational and training activities are planned well in advance; 2) the Reform Slate campaign fundraiser was scheduled after the stewards seminar was scheduled so as to coincide with it; 3) it is appropriate for IBT officers to participate in training activities and for the IBT to reimburse them for travel expenses related to such activities; 4) no union resources were improperly expended; and 5) no campaigning took place at the stewards seminar.
The protest was investigated by Adjunct Regional Coordinator Paige Keys.
In a letter dated April 12, 1998, Mr. Halberg requested that the Election Officer send a representative to monitor a “Stewards and Activists Training Seminar” sponsored by Local Union 174 and planned for April 25, 1998, “to insure that no illegal election campaigning is conducted.” He also asked the Election Officer to determine if IBT officers and staff attending the seminar would be traveling at union expense. By letter dated April 14, 1998, the Election Officer refused to log Mr. Halberg’s letter as a protest or to send any representative to monitor the seminar due to the fact that no improper conduct was alleged. The Election Officer reminded Mr. Halberg that, in the absence of proof of actual impermissible campaigning, the mere possibility of future improper conduct would not be reviewed by the Election Office.
On April 22, 1998, Mr. Halberg sent a second letter to the Election Office regarding the upcoming Local Union 174 stewards seminar. At that time, he also submitted documentation regarding a Teamsters for a Democratic Union (“TDU”) campaign fundraiser that was scheduled for the same day as the seminar and to which Ms. Kilmury had been invited as the guest speaker. He once again requested that the Election Officer send a representative to monitor the seminar “to insure that no illegal campaigning for the IBT election and that no improper promotion of the Reform Slate fund raiser is conducted.” While the Election Officer did not send a representative to the seminar, he logged Mr. Halberg’s second letter as preelection protest, PR-088.
Jerry Halberg
October 5, 1998
Page 1
On Saturday, April 25, 1998, Local Union 174 held a steward training seminar at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The stewards seminar, as well as similar training events, have been held regularly by Local Union 174 since February 1994. The last training seminar was on January 11, 1998. The April 1998 seminar was planned in late January 1998 or early December 1997. Approximately 65 people were scheduled to attend. The seminar consisted of a registration period, an opening plenary session, a series of workshops, a closing plenary session, and a lunch period. The protester presented no evidence indicating that any illegal campaign activity or any promotion of the “Reform Slate” fundraiser occurred during the seminar.
Ms. Kilmury, Mr. Leedham and Ms. Parker attended the April 25 training seminar. Ms. Kilmury and Mr. Leedham stated that they attend such seminars only when invited.
Ms. Parker, an education coordinator in the IBT Education Department, led the Basic Stewards Training portion of the seminar. Local unions can request assistance for training seminars from the IBT by writing a letter or submitting a “Teamsters Training Request” to the Education Department. If possible, the Education Department will comply with the request and send someone to help with the training. In a March 12, 1998 letter to the Education Department, Robert Hasegawa, secretary-treasurer of Local Union 174, requested the attendance of an IBT trainer at the April 25 training seminar. While he did not specifically request Ms. Parker for the assignment, Ms. Parker was familiar with Local Union 174 officers, representatives and personnel due to her extensive involvement with Local Union 174 in the late spring and early summer of 1997 during UPS strike preparations. According to Pat Jones, office manager for the Education Department, Ms. Parker was sent to the April 25 seminar as it was easily coordinated with Ms. Parker’s training commitments in St. Louis, Missouri and Modesto, California.
Immediately after the seminar, at 2:30 p.m., the Pacific Northwest/Evergreen chapter of TDU held a ‘Reform Slate” fundraiser at the Seattle Labor Temple. According to Bill Bishop, the treasurer of the Evergreen Chapter of TDU, the fundraiser was “planned to coincide with the stewards seminar, not the other way around.” While Ms. Kilmury attended the fundraiser,
Mr. Leedham and Ms. Parker did not.
Ms. Kilmury was invited to the training seminar by Mr. Hasegawa. She drove to Seattle from her home in Vancouver, Canada. She paid for all of her own expenses. Mr. Leedham was also invited by Mr. Hasegawa. He drove to Seattle from his home in Molalla, Oregon. Mr. Leedham did not file an expense report for his trip with the IBT, but paid for his out-of-pocket expenses personally. Mr. Leedham does receive a car allowance from the IBT.
Ms. Parker arrived in Seattle on Thursday, April 23, and left on Monday, April 27. At the time, Ms. Parker was on an extended business trip that involved training workshops in St. Louis, Seattle, Modesto and San Jose. The IBT Travel Department made all of Ms. Parker’s travel plans. Ms. Parker arrived in Seattle two days early due to the fact that it was cheaper to fly straight from St. Louis to Seattle then to fly from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. and then to Seattle. Similarly, Ms. Parker remained in Seattle until Monday, April 27 as it was cheaper to fly straight to Modesto then to fly back to Washington, D.C. for two days and then return to Modesto. Ms. Parker’s four nights of lodging in Seattle were paid for by Local Union 174 and her travel and meal expenses were paid for by the IBT.
Jerry Halberg
October 5, 1998
Page 1
While the right to participate in “campaign activity” is guaranteed to all members by Article VIII, Section 11(a), the use of union funds and union resources to campaign is prohibited. See Rules, Article VIII, Section 11 and Article XII, Section 1(b)(3). In Swannie, PR-099-LU31-PNW (August 14, 1998), the Election Officer found that where the reason for a trip by local union representatives was primarily to attend a campaign fundraiser, the use of union resources to cover the cost of the travel constituted a violation of the Rules.
In the instant case, however, the Election Officer finds no violation of the Rules. Unlike Swannie, here there is no evidence that Ms. Kilmury, Mr. Leedham or Mr. Parker traveled to Seattle primarily to attend the “Reform Slate” fundraiser. Mr. Leedham and Ms. Parker did not even attend the fundraiser. While Ms. Kilmury did attend the fundraiser, none of the expenses related to her trip to Seattle were reimbursed by Local Union 174 or the IBT.
Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.
Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one (1) 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, 444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 445, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile (202) 624-3525. A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Cherkasky
Election Officer
cc: Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master
Paige I. Keys, Adjunct Regional Coordinator