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By KEVIN NEVERS Local 2038 of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has agreed to conduct new nominations of officers and to hold a new election, after members filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor against the union local following a disputed election on March 12. In a Sept. 3 letter to Local 2038 President Michael DaVaney, District Director Mary J. Kebisek of the DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards acknowledged DaVaney’s own letter dated Sept. 1, in which DaVaney agreed “to conduct new nominations, a new election, and installation for the offices of president, secretary-treasurer, and business agent on or before Dec. 18, 2009, under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor and in accordance with Title IV of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.” DaVaney, Secretary-Treasurer Rob Gross, and Business Agent Rusty White were all re-elected on March 12 with a total of 42 votes cast for all candidates, from a membership totaling around 600, Kensey Alsman, a member of the Beta Division of Local 2038, told the Chesterton Tribune. Alsman has characterized that election as a “self-coronation” and said that only the local’ s executive board members--including the incumbent officers running for re-election--were allowed to cast votes.In addition, DaVaney also agreed to waive in his letter “the timeliness of any and all actions required to be taken” by the DOL pursuant to the disputed election. “In consideration of this agreement and waiver of International Longshoremen’s’ Association Local 2038, it is agreed that legal proceedings will not be initiated at this time, but the right of the (DOL) to initiate such proceedings is reserved until Jan. 19, 2010,” Kebisek wrote to DaVaney. “Any dispute arising during the course of the supervised election as to the legality or practicability of any election procedures shall be decided by the representative of the Secretary of Labor,” Kebisek added. “A member of my staff will be contacting you in the near future to schedule a pre-election conference to discuss the necessary rules and work out arrangements for the supervised election,” Kebisek said. “No action pertaining to the election should be taken by International Longshoremen’s Association Local 2038 until that time.” The Complaint The complaint filed by Alsman and several other members of Local 2038 made three general allegations: *Members in good standing were not permitted to vote because they did not meet the “Executive Board’s qualifications standard that required voters to be local or division officers.” Again, of the approximately 600 members in good standing of Local 2038, only 42--local and division officers--were declared eligible to vote, the complaint alleged.*The nomination process was flawed--in violation of DOL regulations requiring a union to “take steps to notify sick, laid-off, or other non-working members”--because the notices were posted only at the union hall and around the plant, despite the fact that around 80 percent of the Beta Division’s members were laid off at the time. Moreover, the complaint alleged, members were not allowed to make direct nominations but were allowed only to “suggest a nomination.”*The hours of voting--7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with no proxy votes or absentee ballots allowed--violated the DOL regulation requiring members to have “a reasonable opportunity to vote” and the union to consider their “work schedules and work locations . . . when establishing polling hours and places.” The complaint notes that members on a 12-hour shift, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., could not possibly have cast ballots anyway in the election given the hours of voting.”Response Alsman told the Tribune on Tuesday that he and the membership are delighted with the action of the DOL. “We feel great,” he said. “We’re going to have a new election and we know it’s going to be honest because it’s going to be supervised. The members out there right now are really happy. People are excited to have an honest election.” As it happens, Alsman is the subject of a story in the July-August 2009 edition of Union Democracy Review, which reports on his instrumental role in protesting the March 12 election and persuading the DOL to launch an investigation of that election. See www.uniondemocracy.org
Posted 9/9/2009 |
