Seattle Press on Line - Old Guard Tries to Derail Teamster Reformers

Old Guard Tries to Derail Teamster Reformers

By Tom Herriman

Apr 18, 2001 -- Last December's vote that put a reform Teamster group in control of Local 763 has been thrown out and a new election ordered by Teamster Joint Council 28 after defeated incumbent John Rabine charged the Rank and File Power Slate with use of an illegally donated copying machine.

David Reynolds, a King County property appraiser, and Kirk Stephenson, a Laidlaw school bus driver, were elected to the Local 763 posts in December, defeating Rabine, an international vice president and head of Joint Council 28, Washington State's highest Teamster body.

The Local 763 election is a microcosm of the internal disputes that have shaken the Teamsters union in the past decade. Reynolds and his group believe in increased involvement of members in the workings of the union and democratic votes on contracts and strikes. On the other side is the "old guard" which has direct ties to the days of Jimmy Hoffa Senior and Dave Beck. Reformers say the "old guard" is characterized by high salaries for union officials, stifling internal dissent and excluding rank and file members from decision making.

As examples, Reynolds cites his own experience when he was on the negotiating committee for a new contract for the County Assessors office where he worked. Final negotiations were held in secret between management and the union business agent. Reynolds and other workers in the unit were excluded from the process.

Rabine earned $225,000 a year from three salaries he collected before his defeat for the Local 763 leadership. Reynolds is paid $75,000 a year.

Where the money comes from is a touchy subject for the reformers who also have problems living down parts of their past. Reform President Ron Carey was barred from running for re-election in 1998 and later indicted by the Federal Government for his role in a scheme which used union funds to disguise contributions to his union re-election campaign.

Today James Hoffa, Jr. is president of the Teamsters, and the national leadership is again dominated by the old guard. But rank and file reformers hold several key locals and are contesting local elections across the country for leadership and convention delegate positions.

Shortly after the Joint Council nullified the Local 763 officers' election, members elected Reynolds and his slate of delegates to the Teamster International convention by a substantial margin.

Who Paid for Copy Machine?

In his election protest, Rabine told the Joint Council that Reynolds' Rank and File Power Slate used office space and "a late model expensive copier," located in an office on Boat Street NE, that was leased jointly by Reynolds' wife, Karla Kiiskala, and a friend who is a member of another union. Rabine's information apparently came from surveillance reports from a private detective who saw Power Slate supporters using the copy machine through a window. Comparison price shopping results were introduced into the hearing which showed that a similar copier would cost "$549 a month on a 60 month lease with a per copy charge of $.0129."

Federal law and the IBT constitution bar contributions from employers. But the Joint Council's report states there was "no evidence of who paid for the copier or how."

Illegal Contribution "Deduced"

Nevertheless, they "deduced" that use of the copier and the office space constituted illegal contributions and threw out the election.

Reynolds, on advice of counsel, didn't testify at the hearing. "I wasn't about to sit there and be questioned by John Rabine. The only evidence he could present would have to come from questioning me," Reynolds explained.

But Reynolds flatly denies his slate received any illegal contributions. Use of the copier was donated by a supporter who is a member of another Teamster local, he said. And use of the office space was donated by Kiiskala.

"This is grand theft election," Reynolds said. "The Joint Council doesn't know, or pretends not to know that anyone who is not an employer can contribute to a Teamster local union election. This is very sloppy work on their part."

The Rank and File Power Slate appealed the Joint Council ruling and a stay was granted April 6 by Hoffa. The matter now goes to a hearing before the Teamster International Executive Board.

Even if the Joint Council's action is upheld, Reynolds is confident his group can win a re-run election. "The old guard usually throws out the election when reformers win," Reynolds said. "And the reformers usually win the re-run by a bigger margin than the first election because of all the publicity." The cost of re-running the election, about $20,000, must be borne by the local.

Feds Look at Local 174 Votes

In another disputed Teamster election, Bob Hasegawa, former Local 174 Secretary Treasurer, says the Labor Department is looking at as many as 23 ballots that were inexplicably not counted in the 2-vote margin that put Scott Sullivan in the local's top leadership post last November.

In a Labor Department-supervised election last week, Hasegawa and his slate of supporters won six out of eight Local 174 Teamster convention delegate posts by a wide margin.

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