Brock v. International Union, UAW
Decision Date | 30 March 1988 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 86-3859,86-5007 and 86-4164.,86-4827 |
Citation | 682 F. Supp. 1415 |
Parties | William E. BROCK, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, et al., Plaintiffs, v. INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AEROSPACE, AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Peter A. Caplan, Asst. U.S. Atty., Barbara Harvey, Detroit, Mich., Joseph Yablonski, Washington, D.C., for plaintiffs.
M. Jay Whitman, Detroit, Mich., for defendants.
These consolidated cases, which are currently before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment, involve difficult questions of federal labor law and civil procedure. The four cases arise out of events surrounding an International Union, United Automobile Workers (hereinafter UAW) election. On June 4, 1986, local UAW (hereinafter local or UAW local) delegates elected from the ranks of the locals met to elect the UAW Region 5 Regional Director. Pursuant to the UAW Constitution, Region 5 is composed of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. UAW Constitution, Article 10, section 21.1 This election is of great significance in the UAW since the Region 5 Regional Director not only runs Region 5, but also is part of the UAW's International Executive Board (hereinafter IEB). The IEB is the governing body of the UAW, and is currently composed of the UAW president, the secretary-treasurer, 5 vice presidents, and 16 regional directors elected from the UAW's 10 regions. 1986 UAW Constitution, Article 10, section 1.
Two candidates were running for the office of Region 5 Regional Director in the 1986 election. These individuals were Ken Worley, the incumbent Regional Director, and Jerry Tucker, a former Worley assistant who had been a UAW International Representative for 16 years. Tucker was the Assistant Regional Director for Region 5, having been appointed to this position by Ken Worley. Tucker held his job, the highest appointed position in Region 5, until a month before the election when he was fired. Notably, while Worley was supported by the Administration Caucus, Tucker was supported by the New Directions Caucus.2 All of the incumbent UAW directors and elected officers were members of the Administration Caucus.
Tucker declared his candidacy for the regional director position on May 8, 1986. By so declaring his candidacy, Tucker acted in contravention to a policy (hereinafter 90-day rule) requiring appointed UAW staff members who oppose an elected incumbent to declare their candidacy at least 90 days before the election and to take an unpaid leave of absence from their staff position for that length of time.3 Although Tucker asked for a leave of absence after he declared, the leave was denied him. He was instead discharged from his staff position at UAW President Owen Bieber's behest on May 12, 1986. The stated reason for Tucker's termination was his violation of the 90-day rule.
Due to his discharge, Tucker was denied access to the floor of the convention. Thus, he was unable to campaign for office at the convention. Additionally, the fact of his discharge was common knowledge among the delegates. However, Tucker was not prohibited from running for union office.
The Region 5 Regional Director election took place at the 1986 UAW convention in Anaheim, California. Many of the Region 5 delegates were dressed in grey jackets which had a map of the region and the words "Ken Worley, Director" emblazoned on the back. Jerry Tucker's supporters wore blue jackets to distinguish themselves from the other Region 5 delegates. Since these jackets are at issue in one of the present cases, a historical note is appropriate. The wearing of jackets has become common at UAW conventions during the past 20 years. These jackets are generally in different colors for the different UAW regions and are used to supply regional identity to the delegates. The regional director's name apparently does not appear on all such jackets, but does appear on some.
The vote for Region 5 Regional Director was taken in roll call fashion, with the delegates from each local being polled separately. After the votes were tallied, UAW officials declared Ken Worley the winner by a total of 324.577 votes to Tucker's 324.416 votes. On the basis of this count, Worley won by 0.161 of one vote.4
Following the election, Jerry Tucker protested its results in a letter to Owen Bieber dated June 5, 1986. In that letter, Tucker alleged that he did not get a fair vote count in the election since some delegates were illegally seated. Tucker specifically alleged that Locals 1482, 2175, and 967 had improperly seated delegates. He contended that there was no election in Locals 1482 and 2175, and that improper delegate credentials were filed by Local 967. On June 6, 1986, the convention delegates voted to reconvene the convention's credentials committee so that Tucker's protest could be examined. In addition to the delegates questioned in his written protest, Tucker orally raised questions concerning the validity of the delegate elections in Locals 286 and 514 to the credentials committee. He could produce no information concerning those locals. Upon consideration of the protests and the alleged local delegate election violations, the credentials committee concluded that no violations had occurred.5 The election results were accordingly affirmed, and Owen Bieber informed Tucker from the convention platform that he had exhausted his union remedies. Tucker, thereafter filed a complaint by letter dated June 13, 1986 with the Secretary of Labor.
After investigating Tucker's protest, the Secretary filed the first in this series of lawsuits on September 12, 1986. That lawsuit, Civil Action No. 86-3859 (hereinafter Brock I), alleged that several of the local delegate elections were conducted in derogation of sections 401(a), (e), and (g) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (hereinafter LMRDA), encoded at 29 U.S.C. sections 481(a), (e), and (g). The violations alleged by the Secretary occurred in Locals 119, 218, 514, 1049, and the Region 5 Retired Workers Advisory Council (hereinafter RWAC).6 An amended complaint alleging the same violations was filed on September 18, 1986. As relief, the Secretary seeks an order voiding the June 4, 1986 election and ordering the rerunning of the entire election for the Region 5 Regional Director. The Secretary asserts that such a rerunning should include both the local delegate elections and the regional director election.
Tucker also filed a protest with the UAW regarding his termination from his staff position. This protest was originally voiced in a letter to Owen Bieber dated May 27, 1986. No response to the letter was received by Tucker prior to the election. After the election, Tucker submitted a second letter, dated June 18, 1986, also appealing his termination. When the UAW did not make a final decision on this matter within 90 days of the June letter, Tucker filed a complaint on September 19, 1986 with the Secretary of Labor. Following an investigation, the Secretary filed suit in this Court.
This lawsuit, Civil Action No. 86-4827 (hereinafter Brock II), is the second in the present series. It was filed by the Secretary on November 18, 1986, and alleges that Tucker was terminated in retaliation for seeking union office. The complaint also alleges that the 90 day rule, on the basis of which Tucker was fired, is in direct contravention of section 401(e) of Title IV of the LMRDA and the Secretary's interpretive regulations. Again, the relief sought is the rerunning of the entire election. Tucker's motion to intervene in this action was unopposed; it was granted on February 18, 1987.
Tucker also filed a complaint under Article 32, section 15 of the UAW Constitution regarding alleged violations of the UAW Ethical Practices Codes. Among other allegations, Tucker contended that union resources were improperly used to support Ken Worley's candidacy and that threats and intimidation were used to promote Worley's campaign. This protest, dated July 1, 1986, was submitted in letter form to the UAW Public Review Board (hereinafter PRB) in care of Owen Bieber. The Tucker complaint was remanded to the IEB by the PRB on August 28, 1986. Following the remand, Tucker filed a third complaint with the Secretary of Labor. This complaint was filed on October 2, 1986, three calendar months from the date of Tucker's UAW protest. On the chance that the three month period in LMRDA section 402(a) was commenced on the date of the remand rather than the date of his initial protest, Tucker filed the same complaint with the Secretary on December 1, 1986.
Another letter protest dated June 27, 1986 regarding the same violations was sent to the IEB via Owen Bieber by Claude E. Thornton. Mr. Thornton has been a member in good standing of UAW Local 93 at all times relevant to this action. The Thornton protest was submitted to the IEB after Local 93 adopted a resolution approving submission of the protest. When the IEB did not act on this protest within three months of its submission, Thornton filed a complaint with the Secretary of Labor. This complaint was made via a letter dated October 9, 1986, and also was refiled with the Secretary on December 1, 1986.
Following investigation of the Tucker and Thornton complaints, the Secretary filed the third lawsuit in this series, Civil Action No. 86-5007 (hereinafter Brock III). Brock III was filed on December 1, 1986. In the complaint, the Secretary alleges that certain campaign practices engaged in by Ken Worley violated the provisions of section 401(g) of the LMRDA. Specifically, it is alleged that Worley utilized union funds to mount his campaign, including supplying the jackets with "Ken Worley, Director" stamped on them and sending a campaign letter on union...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Brock v. International Union, United Auto., Aerospace & Agr. Implement Workers of America, (UAW)
...along with Tucker's personal cause of action under Title I of the LMRDA, Tucker v. Bieber (No. 86-4164). See Brock v. Intern. Union. UAW, 682 F.Supp. 1415, 1419-20 (E.D.Mich.1988).4 Tucker perfected a timely appeal from the district court's order disposing of his private civil action, style......
-
US v. INTERNATIONAL BROTH. OF TEAMSTERS
...International IBT. See Donovan v. District Council 35, 702 F.2d 25, 28 (1st Cir.1983); see also Brock v. International Union, United Auto Workers, 682 F.Supp. 1415, 1430-32 (E.D.Mich. 1988). Finally, there can be little dispute that these changes are now part of the IBT Constitution. As ref......
-
Friends Social Club v. Secretary of Labor
...Caucus, on the other hand. These two factions are equivalent to political parties within the UAW. Brock v. International Union, U.A.W., 682 F.Supp. 1415, 1418 n. 2 (E.D.Mich.1988), aff'd, 889 F.2d 685 (6th Cir.1989), reh. den., en banc. The Administration Caucus has been in existence since ......
-
Tucker v. Bieber
...in the Secretary's actions, but maintained his private action against Bieber and the UAW separately. See Brock v. International Union, UAW, 682 F.Supp. 1415, 1420-21 (E.D.Mich.1988). On March 30, 1988, the district court determined that the Region 5 election had violated the LMRDA and order......