ATTORNEYS AT LAW
823 NORTH CASS STREET
P,O. BOX 514005
MILWAUKEE. WISCONSIN 53203·3405
RICHARD PERRY
AMY L SHAPIRO
BARBARA ZACK OUINDEL
RICHARD SAKS 414/272.7400
B. MICHELE SUMARA FAX 414/272.7450
OF COUNSEL:
ROBERT J, LERNER
February 14, 2001
Via UPS Overnight Mail
Wendell Hawkins
529 22nd Avenue
Bellwood, IL 60604
Re: Candidate Eligibility
Dear Mr. Hawkins:
At the February 20, 2001 nomination meeting for Local 2, you were nominated for the position of President and Chicago
District Council Delegate. At the candidate eligibility meeting following the nomination meeting, I interviewed you
regarding your dues record. The record showed a $241 payment on May 30, 2000. This is the only payment noted in the
day book (five year record) for the year 2000. You presented me with the receipt for this payment, which was dated
May 31, 2000, in the amount of $241. You noted that there is a line through the bottom of the receipt from January
through December which led you to believe you were paid through the entire year. You also stated you thought you
actually paid $216 at the end of May for the second, third and fourth quarters, and you paid your first quarter dues in
January 2000 at the office. All of your payments were made in cash and you do not have a receipt showing payment for
the first quarter of January, February and March, 2000. I indicated that further research on your dues record would
need to be performed at the office on Sunday.
After a review of the records at the union office, I determined the following. The records
reflect that for the eligibility period in question, your payments were timely for all quarters in 1999, with your last
payment received July 27, 1999 for $144 for the third and fourth quarter of 1999. The next record of payment is the May
31, 2000 for the $241. The daily book, in which the secretary recorded by date all of the payments she received, does
not reflect any payment for you during the first quarter of 2000. Nor is there a record of any payment for this quarter in
the computer file.
Under Article VIII, Section 4 of the Uniform Local Union Constitution, "The monthly dues are due on the first day of
the month and unless paid on or before the last day of the following month, the member shall be deemed suspended by
the International Union without notice." In May of 2000, members of Local 2 were being charged a late fee to restore
good standing. The payment of $241 on May 31, 2000 is consistent with a payment of $216 for three quarters and a $25
late fee based upon untimely payment of January, February, and March dues.
Your representative, Mr. McGough, has submitted argument on your behalf asserting that
F:\DOCS\LIUNA Elec\Local 2\Corresp\Eligdbility\Hawkins 2-14-01 re eligib.wpd
Wendell Hawkins
February 14, 2001
Page 2
you have maintained the two years continuous good standing required for eligibility.
First, it is argued that your personal statement that you paid dues to Joanne Caruso,
secretary of Local 2, in January, 2000 is supported by other evidence, despite the lack of any
written record of payment. The evidence asserted to support your payment is the statement by Ms.
Caruso that she recalls you to be timely in your dues payment and a trustworthy person and that
business agents with whom you worked were informed during January, February, and March that
you were a member in good standing.
I interviewed Ms. Caruso who stated that she could not specifically recollect a payment by
you in January, 2000, but did believe you were always timely in your payment of dues. Her
procedure, following receipt of dues, was to mark the day book and write out a receipt. At the end
of the day, she recorded the receipts, in numerical order, in the daily book and balanced the total
with the money received. The receipts would then be entered into the computer. I asked her if
there was no record of payment for the first quarter in the five year day book, the daily book, or on
the computer what her explanation would be. She responded that if it were not recorded in any of
these places, the payment was not received, unless it was mistakenly credited to a different
member. Ms. Caruso also stated that a member charged $241 in May was being assessed a late fee
for the first quarter payment, or an earlier quarter for which they had been late.
In making eligibility determinations regarding an issue concerning dues payments, I have
reviewed the dues records of Local 2. Where a member's statement as to when dues were paid
conflicted with those records, I have given members the opportunity to present me with
documentation to support their statements as to the time of payment. If a member has been unable
to provide me with some documentary evidence showing the time or existence of a disputed dues
payment, I have based my determination of eligibility on the records.
Here, the disputed payment is alleged to have been made in cash in January of 2000. You
do not have any documentation to establish that you made this payment, nor do Ms. Caruso's
statements establish that payment was made. The contention that other union officials checked
with the office and were told you were in good standing cannot overcome the lack of direct
evidence on this point.
Furthermore, the fact that the local union charged you a late fee in May, 2000 is consistent
with the absence of any payment for the first quarter of 2000. While the union incorrectly marked
the May 315 receipt as payment for the full year, this would not have been consistent with either
the amount of the payment owed for a full year ($244), nor with your position that you had already
paid for January, February, and March, 2000.
Peter F. Vaira
Independent Hearing Officer
1600 Market Street, Suite 2650
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Facsimile: (215) 751-9420
