Alan Lamb DISQUALIFIED!

General President Hoffa has denied Alan Lamb's appeal of the ruling that he was ineligible to run for President of Local 728.

Local 728 Secretary-Treasurer Scott Webber informed Alan of his ineligibility when Alan requested a verification of his eligibility to run for Local 728 President prior to nominations. After a review of Alan's dues history it was clear Alan had not paid his dues for a full 24 months which is required by the Teamsters Constitution to run for union office.

Even after being informed of this fact, Alan insisted on moving forward with being nominated while he appealed the ineligibility ruling, knowing that if he lost his slate would be crippled by not having a Candidate for President. But concern for others was obviously not at the top of Alan's priorities and he clearly put his ego before all other concerns.

Apparently Alan thought he wasn't subject to the rules all other Teamster members must live by. He was wrong.

The Local 728 election will move forward now with two full slates and one partial slate without a president.


Here is the response to his appeal from General President Hoffa:

Alan Lamb shows "solidarity with...UNION BUSTERS!

First we had a "union leader" who is running for President of our Local union (Patrick Garner) distribute scab t-shirts made in an Honduran sweatshop. Not to be outdone, "Real Union Man" Alan Lamb recommends that Local 728 members who view his "Solidarity Slate" Facebook page to "get the truth" about Local 728 from, wait for it...THE BIGGEST ANTI-UNION WEBSITE IN THE COUNTRY! 

That's right, "Unionfacts.com" is a one-stop- shop for anyone looking to get "dirt" on their union so they can destroy it. They will even give you how-to instructions on how to get rid of the union at your workplace. Doesn't sound like a website that any REAL Teamster leader should be going to does it?

 The information that Alan Lamb recommends you check out is a list of Unfair labor practice charges filed against Local 728. What he doesn't mention is that most of the charges listed were filed by NON-MEMBERS who for one reason or another thought the union did them wrong under Georgia's "right to work for less" law. He also fails to mention that since Randy Brown has been President of Local 728, ALL the charges filed by freeloading scabs, or anyone else for that matter have been dismissed, except one filed by, you guessed it, a freeloading scab for Local 728 not processing his grievances fast enough. That charge was settled by posting the Local would not discriminate against the freeloader.

Apparently Alan thinks our dues money would be better spent catering to people who thumb their noses at OUR union while using the grievance procedure to enrich themselves. Otherwise, why would he have posted a link to a website that tells the freeloading pieces of dirt about their right to freeload and what to do if a union doesn't cater to their sorry asses. Is this what a "real union man" would do?

Maybe if Alan had spent more time joining all the activity Local 728 has going on fighting for our members like picket lines for workers on strike fighting for first contracts, or demonstrations to restore unemployment benefits for hundreds of Local 728 members, or fighting legislation dreamed up by these people to destroy our union instead of spreading lies trying to tear down our union, he might learn the difference between "the truth" and being a frontman for union busters.

Patrick Garner and the "Sweatshop Slate" ?

Patrick Garner's scabby sweatshop wear

What kind of "Union Leader" would buy their campaign material from a sweatshop that forces people (including children) to work for starvation wages sometimes at the point of a gun? Apparently Patrick Garner and his "A New Beginning Slate" would. 

The safety green shirts promoting Patrick's slate was made in Honduras, you know that place where millions of jobs were moved from the United States so they could produce products in sweatshops paying below poverty wages often using children - and of course non-union. These workers are frequently subjected to threats, intimidation and in many cases violence to keep them in check and prevent union organizing.

In another "OOPS I screwed up!" moment, Patrick had the Teamster logo printed (at a non union printer) on the very same sweatshop wear in violation of the Teamsters International's licensing policy. Under this policy clothing bearing a Teamster logo can only be printed by a vendor licensed by the Teamsters. This could actually mean the vendor gets sued by the International union for breach of copyright. I guess they will have Patrick to thank for that.

The vendor who printed Patrick's shirt better hope that no one from the Teamsters International union finds out that they printed OUR UNION logo non-union on shirts not made in America.

Patrick needs to have some class, quit being cheap and buy shirts produced by our fellow union members and not in sweatshops in Honduras.

Yep, ITS ELECTION TIME!

Make this site your first stop to debunk the lies of the rogues gallery of haters that will soon begin slinging mud.

Here we Go!

Another Bogus Protest in the Making

Losers always claim rigged elections.They always seem to refuse to accept when the members reject them. Apparently the Alan "chicken little" Lamb and the United Slate is coming up with another conspiracy theory to explain their pending election loss. They are accusing the Members First Slate of "stealing" the election because their candidate mailing was not sent to the same number of members that were mailed ballots. They are implying that the Members First Slate mailing that was sent to the entire membership was sent to a larger group of members than theirs. The United Slate is asking their supporters to come to the union meeting tomorrow to accuse Randy Brown and the Members First Slate of "stealing" the election.To save their (small) group of supporters the trip and to save the rest of us from having our annual Christmas luncheon from be disrupted by their shenanigans, here is a quick summary of the TRUE facts:

1. All three slates mailers that were mailed to all Local 728 members were sent to a smaller number of members than ballots that were mailed out because mailing houses are required to run addresses through a national database of address changes and remove undeliverable mail pieces.This resulted in less election campaign mail pieces being sent than ballots. The reason for this is that Local 728 is required by the Local bylaws to mail ballots to every single member at their last known mailing address so the Local 728 election committee instructed the mailing house to send ballots to all addresses regardless of whether or not they appeared as bad addresses.

2. The Members First Slate did four mailings to Local 728 members. Three targetted mailings and one mailing to the entire membership.The Members First Slate membership- wide mailing was mailed to the exact same number of members and on the exact same day as the United Slate using the exact same membership list.We know the United Slate's numbers because they have made them public in the course of their conspiracy mongering. Mike Drummond's slate did the membership-wide mailing at a later date.

It is silly to think that one of the most reputable mailing houses in metro Atlanta would risk their reputation to conspire with a candidate to rig a mailing. If the United Slate chooses to pursue this waste of members dues money with yet another bogus protest, the Members First Slate with present all evidence necessary to expose them for the desperate , paranoid, LOSERS they are.

Quit Whining!

Alan Lamb (or at least his blogger) keeps whining about how President Hoffa's response to the bogus protest from Robert Wood got on this blog. Well maybe because the slate who has the (bogus) protest filed against them is entitled to a copy of the ruling? Duh. And the fact that Alan Lamb's slate was lying about how long one of their candidate was a member is not private or confidential information. Quit trying to project your dishonesty onto other people Alan. We all know be exposed as a liar is embarrasing, just deal with it.

Drummond Slate Busted!

While Alan Lamb and the United Slate have been busy spreading weird rumors and covering up for their own dishonesty, Mike Drummond and co. have upgraded from the "Will Say Anything to get Elected" Slate to the "Will Do ANYTHING to Get Elected" Slate.

Several members at the UPS Pleasantdale hub have reported to the Members First Slate that Union Steward and Mike Drummond supporter Patrick Garner has been collecting ballots from UPS Pleasantdale members and CASTING THEIR VOTES FOR THEM.

The Members First Slate is gathering statements and will be filing a protest against this violation of the election rules, Local 728 bylaws,the International Constitution, and THE LAW that could potentially disqualify Mike Drummond and his slate. Stay Tuned.

More on the Weirdness

More weirdness from the United Slate:


Jimi (the non truth) uses his office to exploit members private information for personal reasons. Remember his post of R T P S candidate Woods address being posted on his untrue facts blog. He also can't even get a members eligibility letter correct either. Jimi sent out an eligibility letter to a United Slate member saying he was eligibility to run for office then 18 days later said oops I was wrong.

Um...dude A pdf got posted of a ruling by President Hoffa on a bogus protest filed by Robert Wood.As soon as Robert Wood objected, it was fixed. Let it go.

How in the world to you try to turn the fact around that the United Slate was LYING about the years their trustee candidate had as a member and he ended up being ineligible. Never mind the fact that Alan was this guys steward and Business Agent for at least a decade and still put him on the slate.I believe they call that projecting in the world of psychology.And Never mind the fact that Alan continues to lie about his own years as a member of Local 728.

I guess the high number of non-members at Alan's center just made it too confusing. After all, the Acworth Center has the LOWEST membership level of any UPS facility in the entire local.

United Slate Gets Weird

Alan Lamb and Co. are acting a little weird. They are now spreading a rumor that the picture to the right of the Members First Slate Get Out the Vote rally was a staged photo at Manuel's Tavern that inflated the size of the crowd by incorporating restaurant patrons into the photo.

What in the world are they talking about?

A. The meeting/rally was not held at Manuel's. It was held at C&J's, a bar and grilll near the union hall.

B. The people in the restaurant were 100% Members First Slate supporters since we had the place reserved for an exclusive event.There were around 100 people there, suck it up.

C. Who would think to make this stuff up? Get a life.

Is this desperation or delerium?

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Well Alan Lamb and company have finally decided to grow a pair and call Mike Drummond out on his lies. They say the the Drummond Slate has been caught being dishonest "again". Intresting that they say "again" since this is the first time that Alan and company have pointed out any dishonesty on the part of Mike Drummond.

Alan calling Drummond out on his mountain of lies is pretty rich coming from Lamb. He asks how many meetings did Drummond attend (answer zero in at least five years,maybe more) when Alan decided to stop coming to union meetings or any other union functions after the members rejected him in 2007 until he decided to announce for office in March of this year.

Honesty isn't Alan's strong hand either. Alan claims on his website to be a 30 year Teamster. He seems to have his union membership confused with his seniority at UPS. You see Alan has a seniority date of 1980, but wasn't sworn in to Local 728 until 1988. Alan work for EIGHT YEARS as a freeloader at UPS! Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, we do live in a right to work state after all, but for some reason Alan has chosen to LIE about the length of his membership in our union.

Alan also chose to lie about how long one of his candidates was a member. He claimed his candidate for Trustee Richard Haas was a 12 year Teamster but the reality was that he had only been a member since May of 2009.

I guess if your looking to vote for a slate that actually has the truth on their side there's only one way to vote.

One More Time on the Money

The United Slate folks still can't figure out this money thing, so here it is as plain as I can make(and i'm also typing this real slow for good measure):

0ver $500,000 in grience wins at UPS
+
Over $500,000 in grievance wins in Freight
+
Several tens of thousand of dollars in miscellaneous "white paper" contract grievance wins.

=Over ONE MILLION DOLLARS

Let's talk money

Apparently the United Slate is confused by some numbers wev've put out in regards to grievance awards. Flyers that have been distrubuted by Members First in freight and UPS each make reference to over $500,000 in grievance awards. In our previous post we pointed out that Local 728 has won over one million dollars for our members over the last 3 years. So which is it they ask? So here are the rough numbers broken down. In both Freight and UPS Local 728 have have won over $500,000 in grievance settlements for various contract violations and backpay. In "white paper" (waste,school bus , transit etc.) contracts, an undetermined several tens of thousands of doillars have been won, but the specific amount is harder to determine. Whatever the amount, it exceeds one million dollars. Still a fact.

Facts are Pesky Things

With the ballots being mailed today in the Local 728 officers election, the mudslinging is sure to hit a fever pitch. In anticipation of the coming storm of untruths, here on some FACTS that are absolutely true and verifiable:

IT IS A FACT that the overwhelming majority of grievances processed by Local 728 are won in favor of the grievant.

IT IS A FACT that Local 728 has won over ONE MILLION DOLLARS in grievance pay for for Local 728 members over the last 3 years.

IT IS A FACT that Local 728 has reversed a 20 year membership decline under Randy Brown.Had the layoff in freight not happened, Local 728 would have over 8,000 members. As it stands though, Local 728 has seen a net gain of 1300 members due to organizing and aggresive membeship drives.

IT IS A FACT that Local 728 has a 95% win rate in arbitrations.

IT IS A FACT that Local 728 has worked in partnerships with the International union on a number of campaigns including organizing, political action, and corporate campaigns.(ie. the notion that Local 728 is somehow estranged from the International union is bunk)

If anyone tells you any different, THEY ARE A LIAR.

Local 728 Members Hit Back Against Lies

The Drummond Slate Goes Over the Edge

Elections are about the free exchange of the ideas and FACTS. When one side decides to resort to outright falsehoods, it is the duty of all parties to take them to the political woodshed and chastise them for dishonesty.

The Drummond Slate has consistently been willing to resort to fabrications and falsehoods during this campaign. Recent actions of the Drummond Slate have moved them from the catagory of petty liars to people willing to say anything to get elected, even if it means damaging our union. Yesterday, Mike Drummond's slate posted the above image and caption on their Facebook page.In the post the Drummond slate acuses President Randy Brown of "Randy Brown closed our Savannah Office supposedly to save money and used the savings to funds his Campaign for Members First Slate."

Making such a statement crosses the line. Falsely accusing a union officer of illegal activity without a shred of evidence should bring the accuser's credibility as a candidate into question. Local 728 has been through multiple routine audits from both the International Union and the Independent Review Board without even a hint of any sort of impropriety. Not only is spreading misinformation like this poisonous in a campaign, it also undermines members faith in their union as an organization and will potentially be used in misinformation campaigns by union busters during organizing campaigns.

Local 728 members deserve an answer from Mike Drummond as to whether he endorses spreading lies about our union. He hasn't been willing to withdraw and own up to his other lies, so this writer won't be holding his breath.

"I said What?!"

If you are entering or leaving work and see the "Disunited" slate campaigning at your gate, watch out for cameras. If you are not careful you may end up as a talking head on their website listed as one of their supporters. To make matters worse, you will probably labeled with a quote you may have never said such as,"I support Alan Lamb and the United Slate 100%." While on the campaign trail, several members have complained to Members First campaigners that they had had conversations with various "United" Slate candidates and had their picture taken while they were talking. Their pictures were then put on the United Slate's website and a completely made up quote was put underneath their picture. I guess it's understandable for the United Slate feels like they need to manufacture support (they sorely need it), but it isn't making them any friends.For the record, everyone who appears on the Members First supporter page has signed a petition committing to support the Members First Slate.

Drummond Slate Comes Clean On One Lie

A screenshot of the Drummond Slate admitting they lied on facebook...Priceless.

Drummond Slate Opens Up a Can of Worms

All I have to say is OUCH. Scroll down for responses.Welcome to the world of Facebook Brother Drummond.

Sour grapes anyone?

Mike Drummond has referred in an email to the Members First campaigning at Local 728 General Membership Meetings as a "dog and pony show". By dog and pony show he must mean the ovewhelming showing of majority support showed for Randy Brown and the members First Slate at the meetings. Maybe if Mike had come to a union meeting over the last five years he would know and have more support from members who actually attend the meetings.

Keepin 'em Honest

You can tell that it's getting closer to election time when you notice the dramatic uptick of outright lies being told to the members through the various campaign mediums. The most serious offenders are always the slates who attempt to substitute mudslinging for a record of accomplishments.After all when you figure out that most members actually don't ever contemplate "giving up on your union" (from Drummond's website), You have to resort to slinging mud.

The liar of the week award goes to Mike Drummond's slate.They have not only told the most public lies this week, they also have the dubious distinction of telling the most lies per candidate. Here is a refresher course for those readers who don't make a habit of reviewing there literature or website.

This one has been around a while but it is truly a whopper. Mike Drummond has this in his slate's platform:

REDUCE PART TIMER’S DUES: This is not a new idea and was accomplished at Local 728 in the past. It was eliminated 20 years ago. The current rate of 2.5 times the hourly wage is financially burdensome due to part-time limited work hours. I would propose a special dispensation from the IBT to reduce P/T dues. Let’s put money back into the pockets of hard working, underpaid part-timers.

Mike apparently either hasn't read the Teamsters constitution, or is being deliberately dishonest in a cynical attempt to trick UPS part timers into voting for him to get a break in their dues. You be the judge. Firstly, the Teamsters constitution says:

ART. X, SEC. 3

Effective July 1, 2002, the current rate of dues for
all members whose hourly earnings rate is more than
eleven dollars ($11.00) shall be adjusted, based upon
the hourly earnings rate or hourly flight pay at base
rate or monthly guarantee in effect on that date, as
follows:
(i) dues for members employed in an industry in
which there is a legal right to strike, other than members
employed as flight attendants or pilots in the
airline industry, shall be increased by one-half times the
hourly earnings rate; thereby establishing a minimum
dues rate of two and one-half (2.5) times the hourly earnings
rate;

Now Mike covers his rear by saying:

I would propose a special dispensation from the IBT to reduce P/T dues.

Translation- "I will ask the International to reduce part-timers dues." What Mike isn't telling people is that the International is not under any obligation to grant any dispensation.Tell UPS part-timers the TRUTH Mike, YOU CAN'T REDUCE THEIR DUES AND EVEN IF YOU COULD, IF YOU GOT ELECTED YOU WOULDN'T. You might lose a few votes but you would still have your integrity.

The next to "liar,liar pant on fire" untruths that have popped up on Mike Drummond's slate's Facebook page that was created this week. The First lie was in the very first post to the Slate's page:

Ask Randy Brown and Jimi Richards why they walked-out of the YRC Meeting in Dallas, TX this week before all the information was presented.

Considering that No one from Mike's slate was present at the two-man meeting, he truly has no clue what happened. But for the record, President Randy Brown and Jimi Richards attended the two-man meeting in it's entirety and voted to send the proposal to the members for an up or down vote. They also attended a regional breakout after the two-man meeting for an hour (where most of the same information was repeated) and then left to catch their flights back to Atlanta to be back in time for contract negotiations the next morning.

Next, whoever controls posts on Mike's Facebook page says:

Since 1980's Local 728 have conducted their local elections (nominations in Sept and early November the votes were counted and the election was completed. This year 2010 Randy Brown Executive Board has delayed the Local Election by two months. Question? Why has the current Local 728 Executive Board lead by Randy Brown is delaying the Local Election into the Christmas Peak Season.

Jimi Richard's responded to this one and it pretty much speaks for itself:



Brother Drummond,

You recently wrote on your Facebook page.....

"Since 1980's Local 728 have conducted their local elections (nominations in Sept and early November the votes were counted and the election was completed. This year 2010 Randy Brown Executive Board has delayed the Local Election by two months. Question? Why has the current Local 728 Executive Board lead by Randy Brown is delaying the Local Election into the Christmas Peak Season."

Brother Drummond:

If you took the time to read the By-Laws of Local 728, which have been as they are since Brother Mathis last updated them in 1973, you would have found out that Article VII of The By-Laws state..." Meeting as hereinafter established for nominations of Officers shall be held in November. Election shall be held not less than thirty (30) days after nominations have been closed. Nominations shall be held in one central location"

These By-Laws were read to the members April 14,1973 and were voted on and approved by the members in the General Membership Meeting held on May 19, 1973, and this can be found in Article XXXVII of The Local By-Laws.

The Election dates were announced at the General Membership Meeting on October 9,2010 in which your slate, along with anothers were in attendance. Not one question was asked by anyone concerning these dates.

Sister Vicki Bagby brought this up in a meeting at the Local office and as God as my witness she was told that the Election would be held per the Local 728 By-Laws in which I took an oath to abide by and to uphold when I was first elected as Secretary-Treasurer of Local 728.

This election is being held within the By-Laws of Local 728, and is "not being delayed" by Randy Brown and the Local 728 Executive Board...plain and simple.

I told Sister Bagby that the IBT rejected anymore requests to hold the elections any earlier in a letter to the Local in 2007. I have offered to let her review these letters, and as of this date she has not took the time to do so.....had she of done that, then you would not be having to post false information to the members of this Local to try and conjure up some conspiracy theory to confuse the members of Local 728.

They deserve better than that.

Fraternally

Jimi Richards

The bottom line is, how can you believe a slate whose campaign is 3/4 based on minforming the members?