US v. INTERN. BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, AFL-CIO, 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE).

• Decision Date: 22 August 1995
• Docket Number: No. 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE).,88 Civ. 4486 (DNE).
• Citation: 896 F. Supp. 1349
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, et al., Defendants. In re Application I of the ELECTION OFFICER.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

896 F. Supp. 1349

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, et al., Defendants In re Application I of the ELECTION OFFICER.

No. 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

August 22, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Mary Jo White, United States Attorney for Southern District of New York (Christine H. Chung, Karen B. Konigsberg, Assistant United States Attorneys, of counsel), for United States.

Judith A. Scott, General Counsel, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, DC (John J. Sullivan, Associate General Counsel, Washington, DC, Martha Walfoort, Guerrieri, Edmond & James, Washington, DC, of counsel), for defendant.

Barbara Zack Quindel, Washington, DC (Robert F. O'Brien, Theodore M. Lieverman, Tomar, Simonoff, Adourian & O'Brien, Hadedonfield, NJ, Amy Gladstein, James Reif, Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, New York City, of counsel), for Election Officer.

Baptiste & Wilder, P.C., Washington, DC (Robert M. Baptiste, Patrick J. Szymanski, of counsel) (Barry I. Levy, Shapiro, Beilly, Rosenberg, Albert & Fox, New York City, of counsel), for Teamsters Local 1150.

Sylvia A. Law, New York City (Duane B. Beeson, Beeson, Tayer & Bodine, San Francisco, CA, of counsel), for Teamsters Local 890.

Shanley & Fisher, P.C., New York City (Mary Jane Armstrong, of counsel) (Duane C. Aldrich, Paul V. Lalli, Kilpatrick & Cody, Atlanta, GA, of counsel), for amicus curiae Pepsi-Cola Company.

Paul Alan Levy, Public Citizen Litigation Group, Washington, DC, for amicus curiae Teamsters For A Democratic Union.

OPINION & ORDER

EDELSTEIN, District Judge:

This opinion emanates from the voluntary settlement of an action commenced by plaintiff United States of America ("the Government") against, inter alia, defendants International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("the IBT" or "the Union") and the IBT's General Executive Board. This settlement is embodied in the voluntary consent order entered on March 14, 1989 ("the Consent Decree"). The goal of the Consent Decree is to rid the IBT of the hideous influence of organized crime through a two-phased implementation of the Consent Decree's various remedial provisions. These provisions provided, in the first phase of the Consent Decree, for three court-appointed officials: the Independent Administrator to oversee the Consent Decree's provisions, the Investigations Officer to bring charges against corrupt IBT members, and the Election Officer to supervise the electoral process that led up to and included the 1991 election for International Union Office. In the second phase of the Consent Decree, the Independent Administrator was replaced by a three-member Independent Review Board. Further, paragraph 12(D)(ix) of the Consent Decree provides that "the union defendants consent to the Election Officer, at Government expense, to supervise the 1996 IBT Elections."

Prior to the 1991 IBT election, the 1991 Election Officer, acting pursuant to Paragraph 12(D)(ix) of the Consent Decree, promulgated election rules, which were then presented for this Court's review by application of the Independent Administrator. The Consent Decree further provided that, during the 1991 IBT election process, in addition to applying to this Court for an order regarding the proposed election rules, it was the duty of the Independent Administrator to hear disputes about the conduct or results of the 1991 elections.

The instant application, Election Officer Application I, presents for this Court's review the proposed rules for the 1995-96 IBT election for International Union delegates and officers. By Stipulation and Order dated February 7, 1995, the Consent Decree was amended to reflect the parties' agreement regarding the means of implementing Paragraph 12(D)(ix) of the Consent Decree, which pertains to supervision of the 1995-96 IBT election. See Stipulation & Order Implementing Paragraph 12(D)(ix) of the March 19, 1989 Consent Decree (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 7, 1995) ("the February 7, 1995 Order"). The February 7, 1995 Order states that "it is the intention of the Government and the IBT that the Election Officer function in 1996 as similarly as possible to the 1991 Election Officer," id. at 2, and it confers upon the Election Officer "all rights and duties conferred upon the 1991 Election Officer by paragraph 12 of the Consent Decree," id. ¶ 1, including "the authority granted by Paragraph 12(I) of the Consent Decree to make applications to the Court, after giving notice to specified parties," id. ¶ 3(c). The February 7, 1995 Order further provides for the appointment of an Election Appeals Master to hear disputes about the conduct of the 1995-96 IBT election or the results of that election. Id. ¶ 2. During the 1991 IBT election, the Independent Administrator performed this function.

Currently before this Court is Election Officer Application I, which presents for this Court's review the final set of proposed rules for the 1995-96 IBT election for International Union office. Approximately five years ago, this Court stood at a similar juncture in reviewing the proposed rules for the 1991 IBT elections. At that time I stated:

During the course of the implementation of this Consent Decree, this Court has been called upon to decide matters large and small. But of all the tasks put before it, no question is more central to the ultimate success of this Consent Decree than this proposed framework for the first fully democratic, secret ballot elections in the history of a union which has been the historic marionette of organized crime.

July 10, 1990 Opinion & Order, 742 F.Supp. 94, 97 (S.D.N.Y.1990), aff'd as modified, United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 931 F.2d 177 (2d Cir.1991). In the five years since that decision, many of the sinister forces that allowed the Union to be controlled by corruption have been despoiled. On the anvil of the IBT's first truly democratic election, a democratic Union began to take shape.

It is of paramount importance that the same spirit of vigilance that vitalized the 1991 IBT election energize the 1995-96 IBT election process if the arduous and painstaking work of implementing the Consent Decree is to be preserved and built upon. It cannot be said too often that the minions of organized crime continue to haunt the IBT. These invidious enemies of union democracy continue to thrive with a perverse and persistent energy. Rank and file Teamsters will watch this election with the hope that the Union will continue to be free and democratic. They will constantly be asking themselves whether the Union truly belongs to them. It is not just their interests that are at stake: The American public as a whole will benefit when this union of more than 1.4 million members is freed from the clutches of organized gangsterism. Union corruption takes an enormous toll on its members and the public. The sociological and economic cost it levies on society and on commerce is incalculable.

The importance of a free and democratic IBT election, and of the rules governing that election, cannot be exaggerated. The Consent Decree is "a unique attempt to cleanse this union" and the election rules "are the linchpin in that effort." Id. As I stated in reviewing the proposed rules for the 1991 IBT election, "this Court will only approve election rules that will guarantee honest, fair, and free elections completely secure from harassment, intimidation, coercion, hooliganism, threats, or any variant of these no matter under what guise." Id. Before examining in detail the proposed election rules and the objections to them, I must emphasize, once again, that the concept of fair, free, and honest elections

means more than just an honest ballot. Fair elections demand that IBT members are given a meaningful, uncoerced choice of candidates. Candidates must be freed of any hesitation about speaking openly on issues, including criticism of the incumbent IBT structure. Candidates must be fearlessly free to communicate those views to the membership. Members must be assured and given confidence that they need not fear to engage in untrammelled discussion.

Id. The realization of these freedoms constitutes the election rules' core mission, a mission that is crucial to the fulfillment of the Consent Decree's goals.

I. The Rules Promulgation Process

Briefly stated, the Election Officer's duties consist of supervising the nominations and elections of Local Union delegates to the 1996 IBT Convention ("the Convention"), and the nominations and elections of International Union officers. The IBT election is a three-step process: (1) the nomination and election by each Local Union of a number of delegates to the Convention, (2) the nomination by the delegates at the Convention of candidates for International Union office, and (3) the election of International Union officers by direct, secret-ballot vote of the IBT membership.

In December 1994, the Election Officer issued proposed rules for the upcoming 1995-96 IBT election and distributed copies of them to each Local Union, all other IBT subordinate bodies, and each member of the IBT General Executive Board. Moreover, copies of the proposed rules were made available to all IBT members who attended hearings on the proposed rules or requested copies. In addition, copies of the proposed rules were sent to the Government and to each of the approximately 130 employers that employs more than 1,000 IBT members. The Election Officer then conducted a series of hearings for IBT members and their representatives in eleven cities throughout the United States and Canada, for the purpose of soliciting comments on the proposed rules. The transcripts of these hearings were filed with the Court and are part of the public record. The Election Officer also solicited written comments on the rules, and sent a letter to each of the approximately 130...