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?

The case of the MISSING Decert Campaign

Since their website went online, the "United Slate" has had a blurb on their site called "News the Incumbents Don't Want You to Know". The first "news" they reported was " Savannah First Student Members Call for Decertification Vote" which has a link to this transcript that was broadcast on WTOC Savannah.

The only problem with this "news" is that there is no decert vote...AND the "members" who were featured in the story were seven management suck-ups sent to disrupt a union meeting. The SEVENTY members inside continued to conduct a business meeting while the scabs talked to the media called to come there by First Student management.It should be no suprise that Three of the seven scabs are now in management.

The newscast that night was a management inspired stunt and it didn't work.After they had organized, First Student members fought for and won a first Teamster contract that contained solid wage increases and a number of improvements.The majority of First Student members know that. First Student members continue to improve their lives with a Teamster contract and are now getting ready to negotiate a renewal agreement.

Of course the real problem is why would someone running for union office publish this story? You would think they would at least call the Local out of concern if they heard that a decert vote was going on at a Local 728 shop. At the very least one would hope that someone from the "United Slate" would at least talk to some First Student members to hear more about what happened. No such luck.

Instead the "United Slate" has spread disunity by using management misinformation to score political points. Bravo guys.

Bogus Protest Denied

And it keeps getting worse for the Randy Brown hater club.

Robert Wood, candidate for Recording Secretary with Mike Drummond's slate filed charges with the Local 728 Executive Board against President Randy Brown for the publishing of "Meeting the Challenge: A Report on the State of Your Union". The report by President Randy Brown was published in May by Local 728 to communicate with Local 728 members on the challenges and opportunities facing Local 728 before either candidate had publicly declared temselves as a candidate. Wood aasserted that the publication was improper and constituted campaign material paid for by Local 728. Paying for campaign material with union funds is both illegal and a violation of the International Constitution. Unfortunately for Robert his opinion didn't seem to agree with the facts or established standards of what constitutes campaign material.

Wood's charges were reviewed by the Local 728 Executive Board and were dismissed on the grounds that the charges were improper because they were not filed as a pre election protest as required by the International Constitution. Robert Wood appealed the decision to General President Hoffa, who not only upheld the decision of the Local 728 Executive Board to dismiss the charges, but went further to say:

I have also reviewed the publication in question and have determined that Brother Brown's article does not constitute campaign materials. Thus, even had you alleged a pre-election violation, it would have been denied.

A pre election protest was also filed on the same subject by Mike Drummond, but his protest was dismissed by the Executive board because it was filed untimely (you better learn the IBT Constitution if your going to be President buddy). Alan Lamb's slate has stated on there website that they have filed charges with everyone short of the FBI, but no protest has been filed to date, just a whiney letter to Joint Council 75 President Ken Wood cc'ed to Local 728.

These guys obviously have issues dealing with the reality that a sitting President of a union has a right to communicate with the members.

Unconscionable?

Mike Drummond has posted some "news" on his website accusing Local 728 Business Agent and Trustee Tim Chaney of doing bargaining unit work (ie. picking up some boxes off the floor and putting them on a belt). He ends the so called "news" with this:

It is unacceptable for company supervisors to take money out of your pocket but having your own union representative taking money out of your pocket and food off your table is unconscionable.

What's "unconscionable" is that Mike Drummond watches supervisors REALLY doing bargaining unit work every night and has never filed a grievance on it the entire time that the midnight sort has been in existence at Forest Park. Maybe if Mike had attended a union meeting in the last five years he would know how to file one.

And this guy wants to be our President...

"Disunited" Slate Flunks Math

The grossly misnamed "United Slate" have been busy peddling false rumors (shocking!) about Local 728's newest Business Agent, Matt Higdon. The rumor is that Randy Brown hired Matt "because it's an election year" so Randy Brown can "increase visiblity" during an election year. So let's do the math since apparently they can't count:

Local 728 UPS Business Agents prior to Matt Higdon being hired:
Jim Higginbotham
Donnie Dixon
Eric Thornton
Walt Neal
Randall Andrews
Tim Chaney
Eric Robertson
Robert Wood(part-time Feeder Agent)

Local 728 UPS Business Agents after Matt Higdon was hired:
Jim Higginbotham
Donnie Dixon
Eric Thornton
Walt Neal
Matt Higdon
Tim Chaney
Eric Robertson

That's 8 Business Agents before Matt was hired and 7 after he was hired.Matt was hired to replace Randall Andrews who resigned to take another job. The reduction in agents is due to Robert Wood resigning. So Local 728 now has 7 full-time UPS agents. Just in case any "dis-united" slate supporters reading this still don't get it, 7 agents is less than 8. So the rumor that Randy Brown is hiring additional agents just for an election year falls flat on it's face. Thankfully, now UPS feeder drivers have a full time agent and Matt Higdon is doing a great job for Local 728 UPS members.