Teamsters will have to re-run President and officers elections. Elaine ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- The elections officer for the Teamsters has just brought down her decision --- to "refuse to certify the election" of officers which was held last fall, and she has ordered "a rerun election for all positions except the Central Region Vice Presidents and the President of Teamsters Canada." (The President of Teamsters Canada, Louis LaCroix, was on both the Carey and Hoffa slate, and unopposed, and the Central Region Vice Presidents were on the Hoffa slate). The elections officer, further held that "because there is no evidence that Carey or any member of his slate knew of or participated in the various improper fundraising schemes, disqualification is not warranted." Finally, while she hasn't yet said when this election will be run -- though one case assume this fall -- she has petitioned the courts for tighter rules. "Simultaneous with the issuance of the decision, the Election Officer has made an application to the US District Court for approval of a Proposed Rerun Election Plan. The proposed plan includes supplemental nominations, the prohibition of non-member contributions, a $ 1,000 limite on member contributions and a $ 5,000 limit on candidate contributions, and more frequent and detailed reporting requirements." The reasoning she gives for ordering the new election is that "given the small margins between the winning candidates on the Carey slate and the losing candidates on the Hoffa slate, the Teamsters for a Corruption Free Union funded mailings could have persuaded at least a small percentage of Carey slate supporters to cast their ballots and therefore may have affected the outcome of the International officer election." "In ordering a rerun election, the Election Officer recognizes the hardship on the candidates who just went throught an expensive two-year campaign and the disruption to the institution as many of its leaders become diverted from the central work of the Union. The Election Officer finds, however, that the members cannot have confidence in their union or its leaders if they see their choice of officers has been manipulated by outsiders. They cannot have confidence in the Consent Decree if the Court officers do not take effective action to prevent and remedy such misconduct." So, it looks like its elections time in the Teamsters again. Elaine Bernard Harvard Trade Union Program [EMAIL PROTECTED]
