OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER
IN THE MATTER OF |
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DOCKET NO. |
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LOCAL UNION 942 FAIRBANKS, ALASKA |
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99-29P |
ORDER AND MEMORANDUM
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This Order and Memorandum addresses the nomination protest filed by Martin J. Duffy
(“Duffy”) regarding alleged irregularities in the nomination process of the Laborers’
International Union of North America (“LIUNA”) Local Union 942 (“Local 942”) in Fairbanks,
Alaska.
Based upon Local 942 records, the protest of Duffy is DENIED.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Duffy has been a LIUNA member in good standing from May 1997 to the present.
2. On January 24, 1997, Duffy transferred his book out of Local 942 to Local 389, due to a death in the family. On May 27, 1997, Duffy transferred his book back to Local 942 from Local 389.
3. Duffy was nominated to run for Executive Board member in the Local 942 June 1999 officer election.
4. On May 6, 1999, the Judges of Election, Tommy Garner and William McAmis, sent Duffy a letter informing him that he was not eligible to run for office under Article XXI, Section 5 if the LIUNA International Union Constitution (“International Constitution”) which requires a member to be in good standing for a continuous period of two years prior to running for office. See Letter from Tommy Garner and William McAmis, Judges of Election, to Martin J. Duffy of May 6, 1999.
5. Article XXI, Section 5 of the International Constitution provides as follows:
A member shall, upon transferring as aforesaid, become a member of the Local Union to which he has transferred and entitled to all the rights and privileges of a member, except that he shall not have the right to vote until he has been a member thereof for three months and shall not be eligible to be a candidate for or hold any office or represent the Local Union as a delegate or in any other elective capacity, until he has been in continuous good standing therein for at least two years.
(Emphasis added.)
6. Article XXI, Section 5 prohibits a member who has transferred into a local union during the two-year period preceding an election from running for office.
7. Duffy does not dispute that he transferred out and in of 942. Duffy maintains that because he had a good faith reason for transferring within the two-year prohibition, he should be permitted to run. However, there is no good faith exception to the uninterrupted two year requirement of being a member of a local before being eligible to hold office in that local.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Article XXI, Section 5 prohibits a member who has transferred into a local union within the two years preceding an election to run for office.
2. The IHO does not doubt Duffy’s good faith in this matter.
DECISION
The protest of Duffy is DENIED.
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SIGNED
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PETER F. VAIRA |
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INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER |
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Date: May 17, 1999 |
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Martin J. Duffy Local Union 942 |
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