RogerRoger
Member
- Mar 16, 2004
- 17
- 0
US Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Washington, DC 20210
August 17, 2004
John Ward, President
Association of Professional Flight Attendants
1004 W. Euless Blvd.
Euless, TX 76040
Dear Mr. Ward:
Pursuant to the authority of Section 601 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), and receipt of election complaints, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) conducted an investigation of the March 12, 2004, runoff election for officers of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).
On July 13, 2004, OLMS District Director Kermit Perkins notified you of the OLMS investigative findings into the complaints filed by Sherry Cooper and Tommie Hutto-Blake. Specifically, OLMS concluded that 16 eligible members were denied the right to vote in violation of Section 401(e) of the LMRDA when their ballots were not counted in the March 12, 2004 runoff election.
Since the margin of victory for President was 5 votes, OLMS concluded that the union's failure to count the 16 ballots may have affected the outcome of the March 12, 2004 runoff election for president. On August 12, 2004, OLMS opened and counted the 16 challenged ballots in the presence of candidate observers. When OLMS added the 16 votes to the March 12, 2004 tally, the revised election results showed that candidate Tommie Hutto-Blake received 7 more votes than candidate John Ward.
With regard to the election complaints filed by Ted Bedwell, Juan Johnson, and Linda Lanning, the OLMS investigation found no violations that may have affected the runoff election outcome. In the near future, OLMS will issue its statement of reasons for dismissing these complaints, and provide a copy to APFA.
Based on these additional findings, it is the OLMS position that APFA should immediately install candidate Tommie Hutto-Blake to the position of APFA president. APFA's voluntary installation of Ms. Hutto-Blake to president for the remainder of the term will remedy the violations of Section 401(e) that occurred during the runoff election.
OLMS understands that the APFA Board of Directors is convening on August 25. We, therefore, request that any information concerning action contemplated by APFA to recognize the results of the August 12 ballot count, or otherwise address these findings, be provided to this office on or before August 26. OLMS will defer a final decision on enforcement until that time so that we may consider APFA's response. If OLMS does not receive a response from APFA by August 26, the Department will refer this matter for enforcement proceedings.
We appreciate the union's continued cooperation in this matter. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Heaney
Chief, Division of Enforcement
cc: Steven Moldorf, APFA Counsel
Greg Hildreth, APFA Secretary
Employment Standards Administration
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Washington, DC 20210
August 17, 2004
John Ward, President
Association of Professional Flight Attendants
1004 W. Euless Blvd.
Euless, TX 76040
Dear Mr. Ward:
Pursuant to the authority of Section 601 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), and receipt of election complaints, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) conducted an investigation of the March 12, 2004, runoff election for officers of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).
On July 13, 2004, OLMS District Director Kermit Perkins notified you of the OLMS investigative findings into the complaints filed by Sherry Cooper and Tommie Hutto-Blake. Specifically, OLMS concluded that 16 eligible members were denied the right to vote in violation of Section 401(e) of the LMRDA when their ballots were not counted in the March 12, 2004 runoff election.
Since the margin of victory for President was 5 votes, OLMS concluded that the union's failure to count the 16 ballots may have affected the outcome of the March 12, 2004 runoff election for president. On August 12, 2004, OLMS opened and counted the 16 challenged ballots in the presence of candidate observers. When OLMS added the 16 votes to the March 12, 2004 tally, the revised election results showed that candidate Tommie Hutto-Blake received 7 more votes than candidate John Ward.
With regard to the election complaints filed by Ted Bedwell, Juan Johnson, and Linda Lanning, the OLMS investigation found no violations that may have affected the runoff election outcome. In the near future, OLMS will issue its statement of reasons for dismissing these complaints, and provide a copy to APFA.
Based on these additional findings, it is the OLMS position that APFA should immediately install candidate Tommie Hutto-Blake to the position of APFA president. APFA's voluntary installation of Ms. Hutto-Blake to president for the remainder of the term will remedy the violations of Section 401(e) that occurred during the runoff election.
OLMS understands that the APFA Board of Directors is convening on August 25. We, therefore, request that any information concerning action contemplated by APFA to recognize the results of the August 12 ballot count, or otherwise address these findings, be provided to this office on or before August 26. OLMS will defer a final decision on enforcement until that time so that we may consider APFA's response. If OLMS does not receive a response from APFA by August 26, the Department will refer this matter for enforcement proceedings.
We appreciate the union's continued cooperation in this matter. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Heaney
Chief, Division of Enforcement
cc: Steven Moldorf, APFA Counsel
Greg Hildreth, APFA Secretary
