November 30, 1998
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
Victor Farvet
November 30, 1998
Page 1
Victor Farvet
12790 S.W. 25th Terrace
Miami, FL 33175
W. Lamar Mathis, Sec.-Treas.
Teamsters Local Union 769
8350 N.W. 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33150
Cassandra Butler, Shop Steward
Teamsters Local Union 769
8350 N.W. 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33150
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
Victor Farvet
November 30, 1998
Page 1
Re: Election Office Case No. PR-416-LU769-EOH
Gentlemen:
Victor Farvet, a member of Local Union 390, 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”). The protester alleges that Local Union 769 failed to properly post the Notice of Rerun Election (“Notice”) at a number of work sites, in violation of the Rules. Local Union 769 denies the allegation. They state that the Notice was properly posted in a timely manner at all work sites with bulletin boards as required by the Rules. They further assert that they are not required to post the Notice at work sites without bulletin boards. However, they admit that the Notice at one of the sites mentioned by the protester had been removed without their permission or knowledge.
The protest was investigated by Election Office Staff Attorney Peter F. Gimbrère.
Despite numerous attempts, the Election Office investigator was unable to reach the protester. Consequently, the investigator was limited to interpreting Mr. Farvet’s written submission in attempting to define the scope of the alleged Rules violations.
Victor Farvet
November 30, 1998
Page 1
On November 12, 1998, Mr. Farvet proceeded to a number of Local Union 769 work sites located in Key West, Florida in order to campaign for the Tom Leedham “Rank and File Power” Slate. According to Mr. Farvet, out of 11 sites listed on the work site list referenced by him on that day, four of them had no Notice posted. The four sites were: 604 Simonton Street, 627 Palm Avenue, a baseball field on the 900 block of Kennedy Drive, and a marina located at 1801 North Roosevelt Boulevard.
According to the protester, there is no bulletin board located at any of the locations. The protester further alleges that the Notice was not posted at all four sites and that members at the first three sites informed him that they had no knowledge of the Rerun Election. He asserts that Local Union 769 should be required to install union bulletin boards at any site lacking such a board.
On October 6, 1998, the Election Office received a sworn affidavit from Lamar Mathis, Jr., the secretary-treasurer of Local Union 769, which stated that “a copy of the ‘Notice of Rerun Election’ was posted on each Local Union bulletin board, including all bulletin boards located at the Union office or hall” and that “[he had] directed that the Notice remain posted on all bulletin boards through December 3, 1998.” The Local Union 769 Bulletin Board List attached to the affidavit reflects that both the Simonton Street and the Palm Avenue locations each have one union bulletin board. Neither the baseball field or the marina are included on the list.
Bob Belans, president of Local Union 769, confirmed that both the baseball field and the marina had no place to post any official union material and that no Notice or other election-related or official union literature had ever been posted at those locations in the past. He added that the members assigned to those work sites could see posted union material or official notices at either the Simonton Street or Palm Avenue locations. He explained that the Simonton Street work site was Key West’s City Hall and that the members at issue would regularly proceed there to pick up their paychecks or to perform other administrative duties associated with their employment.
According to Mr. Belans, as soon as he became aware of the protester’s allegations, he requested that the stewards responsible for the two locations that did have bulletin boards check to make sure that the Notice remained posted. While he was subsequently informed that the Notice at Simonton Street was still posted, he discovered that the Notice at Palm Avenue had been removed. Mr. Belans was unsure of how long the Notice had been removed from that bulletin board. He ordered the steward to immediately post a new Notice at that location. The Notice was re-posted at the Palm Avenue location by October 23, 1998.
Mr. Belans argued that the removal of the Notice at Palm Avenue was most likely an isolated and inadvertent incident. He stated that he had neither heard of or received any other complaints regarding the posting of the Notice. However, to insure that the Notice remained posted at all of the other Local Union 769 work sites which had bulletin boards, Mr. Belans had a memorandum sent to all Local Union 769 stewards reminding them that the Notice should remain posted through December 3, 1998.
Victor Farvet
November 30, 1998
Page 1
Article V, Section 2 of the Rules states that “the Notice [of Rerun Election] shall be posted by the International Union and all subordinate bodies, including local Unions, on all Union bulletin boards on or before sixty days prior to the deadline for receipt of ballots to be counted and shall remain posted through such deadline.”
In the instant protest, the Election Officer finds that Local Union 769 properly posted the Notice at both the Simonton Street and Palm Avenue locations and is not required to post a Notice at the baseball field or the marina identified on the work site list as the employees at those locations otherwise have access to the Notice. Furthermore, nothing in the Rules supports the protester’s contention that Local Union 769 is required to install bulletin boards at all of its work sites. Regarding the removal of the Notice at the Palm Avenue location, Local Union 769 immediately re-posted the Notice as soon as they were made aware of its removal.
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 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