Union election dispute returns to federal court

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

Would-be local Teamsters union presidential candidate Anson "Slim" Ilae will be back in federal court this morning, once again hoping for a court order that would require the union to put his name on ballots that will be mailed out tomorrow.

U.S. District Judge Susan Mollway on Tuesday denied Ilae's request to force the union to include his name on the ballot.

Mollway concluded that deciding who is or is not a qualified candidate in a union election is a matter for the U.S. Department of Labor, not the court.

Ilae contends that incumbent Teamsters President Mel Kahele and his backers led him to believe up until last weekend that he would be allowed to run.

Ilae received a letter Saturday telling him that because of a question over his payment of union dues last fall, he was deemed to be not in good standing and could not run for president.

Without Ilae in the race, Kahele is unopposed.

Attorney Michael Green, who represents Ilae, based his first request for a court order on an argument that the union discriminated against Ilae by keeping his name off the ballot.

But in the hearing before Mollway, Green could not point to any other candidate for union president who faced a similar dues problem but was allowed to run for office.

Green is trying a new tack in the request filed in federal court yesterday morning.

This time, he lists the names of eight Teamsters union members who he claims will be deprived of their right to vote for Ilae or who would have nominated someone else to run for president had they been given sufficient notice that there was a problem with Ilae's candidacy.

Mollway is scheduled to hear arguments at 11:15 a.m.