November 16, 1998
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
Richard de Vries
November 16, 1998
Page 1
Richard de Vries
1852 S. Allport Street
Chicago, IL 60608
Brian L. Meidel, President
Teamsters Local Union 734
300 S. Ashland Avenue
Room 306
Chicago, IL 60607
Alpha Baking Company
4545 W. Lyndale Avenue
Chicago, IL 60639
Tom Leedham Campaign Office
P.O. Box 15877
Washington, DC 20003
Arthur Z. Schwartz, Esq.
Kennedy, Schwartz & Cure
113 University Place
New York, NY 10003
Deborah Hicks
Human Resources Director
National Baking Company
5001 W. Polk Street
Chicago, IL 60644
Richard de Vries
November 16, 1998
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. PR-383-LU734-NCE
Gentlemen:
Richard de Vries, 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 Local Union 734. The protester alleges that Local Union 734 is “salting” its list of active members with member of management at an employer, Alpha Baking Company (“Alpha”) in Chicago, Illinois for the purpose of affecting the outcome of the International Officer Rerun Election. The protester additionally alleges that Alpha is making employer contributions through its management personnel, in violation of the Rules.
Local Union 734 responds that members of Alpha management are required to be union members in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between Local Union 734 and Alpha.
Richard de Vries
November 16, 1998
Page 1
This protest was investigated by Regional Coordinator Judith E. Kuhn.
The protester is active in the Tom Leedham Campaign in Chicago. He stated he was informed by employees at Alpha that several people on Local Union 734's membership list are members of management.[1] The protester did not provide any witnesses regarding this statement or his other allegations.
The Election Officer checked the TITAN status of each of the named individuals and found each to be active members with long histories of dues payments. Therefore, there is no evidence that any of these persons were added to “salt” the membership list.
The contract between Alpha and Local Union 734 requires all supervisors to be members of the union. No provision of the Rules or the IBT Constitution bars supervisors or management personnel from being members of the union and therefore eligible to vote in the International Officer Rerun Election.
The protester has presented no evidence of improper contributions by any of the named individuals. Moreover, the Election Office has no record that any of the named individuals made any campaign contributions.
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
Richard de Vries
November 16, 1998
Page 1
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
Judith E. Kuhn, Regional Coordinator
[1] Specifically, the protester stated that Nick J. Nicholas is vice-president of sales; Mike Rosen is manager of Rosen Bakery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alpha; James R. Palm is president of Service Distribution, a non-union subcontractor engaged in distribution at Alpha; Steve Rosen is plant manager; Edward J. Nosalik is manager of distribution; Sean Sullivan is sales manager; Theodore Kazeos is a salesman; and, John Perakis is a salesman.