LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA

SPECIAL ELECTIONS OFFICER

 

 

Matter of Local 500

No. 01-SEO-12

 

            This matter came before the Special Elections Officer upon the protests joined in by three Local 500 members Michael Zimmerman, Cynthia Williams, and Antionette Michelle Jackson Gray.  The issue they raise is whether a close personal friend of a Local 500 officer may serve as a judge of that local's election.

 

FACTS

            Ms. Williams and Ms. Jackson Gray transmitted separate written protests concerning this matter.  Mr. Zimmerman expressed a similar objection in a voice-mail message but did not commit his protest to writing.  It bears emphasis that all protests must be submitted to the Special Elections Officer in writing.  In this case, Mr. Zimmerman's verbal complaint will not be separately considered as a protest but rather his statements given in an interview conducted by this office will be considered in support of the two written protests.

            These members object to Ms. Frankie Fann serving as one of Local 500's Judges of Election, because they believe she is a close personal friend of the local's Business Manager, William Thomas.  The protestors both assert that the relationship suggests a conflict of interest.

            To investigate this protest, the office of the Special Elections Officer interviewed candidate Antionette Michelle Jackson Gray, and candidate Michael Zimmerman.  This office also made an unsuccessful attempt to contact Ms. Williams.[1]

            Ms. Jackson Gray stated, during her interview with this office, that she believes Ms. Fann cannot be impartial to all candidates because of her alleged personal relationship with the business manager.  Ms. Jackson Gray further asserted her view that Ms. Fann is not a free agent but rather is having her decisions directed by Mr. Thomas.  Mr. Zimmerman, who is running against Mr. Thomas for the Business Manager position, concurs in that view.  However, none of the protestors have made any specific allegations regarding the propriety of any of Ms. Fann's decisions as one of three Judges of Election.  They have not challenged Ms. Fann's qualifications but their protests rely entirely on her relationship to Mr. Thomas.

 

ANALYSIS

            The Local Constitution, Article VI, Section 1(c), provides:  "Three Judges of Election shall be appointed prior to the Nomination Meeting by the Executive Board of the Local Union.  They shall not be candidates for office but they shall possess all the qualifications required of candidates for office except that they may be retired."  Nothing in this section precludes friends or relatives of local union officers from serving as Judges of Election, so long as they are not biased in the performance of their duties.  In re Local 1089, IHO Order and Memorandum, 97-12P, 375, 379 (Mar. 13, 1998).  Thus, it is ultimately the decisions of the judges, not their relationships, that must be evaluated.

            In this case, there is no evidence to support the allegation that Ms. Fann is biased in the performance of her duties.  Ms. Fann's relationship to Mr. Thomas, standing alone, does not suggest that she cannot exercise her fair and independent judgment as one of three Judges of Election.  See In re Local 1089, IHO Order and Memorandum, 97-12P, 375, 379 (Mar. 13, 1998).  Moreover, we note that these Judges, including Ms. Fann, have acted responsibly in seeking the advice of counsel and thereafter a decision of this office on several difficult eligibility issues.  Indeed, as a result of that request of this office, Ms. Jackson Gray was found eligible to run for union office.  See In re Local 500, 01-SEO-09, Order and Memorandum (May 4, 2001).  Under these circumstances, the protests must be denied.[2]

 

            IT IS SO ORDERED, this _____ day of May, 2001.

 

 

                                                                        ___________________________________

                                                                        Joseph Guerrieri, Jr.

                                                                        LIUNA Special Elections Officer

 


 

[1]           The number listed on Ms. Williams' protest was disconnected.

[2]           The Special Elections Officer cautions, however, that where friends or family of candidates serve as a Judge of Election, extreme care must be taken to show impartiality.  See LIUNA, Local Union Officer Elections: A Guide for Local Union Judges of Election, Officers and Members (Feb. 2001), at 4.  Where possible, to avoid even the appearance of partiality, it is certainly the better practice not to select candidates' relatives or "significant others" to serve as Judges of Election.  Id.