Union allows challenger
on ballot against KaheleThe Teamsters local reverses
its decision regarding Anson Ilae
The union representing 5,900 city and private sector bus drivers will have a contested election after all.
Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 said yesterday that Anson "Slim" Ilae is eligible to challenge union President Mel Kahele in the election this month.
The move, three days after the union approved a settlement to a monthlong city bus strike, reverses the union's decision to disqualify Ilae last month because he was not current on his union dues.
Ilae, a shuttle driver for Budget Rent-A-Car, said that his disqualification was a "sham" to allow Kahele to run for a new three-year term unopposed. At the least, his eligibility will force Kahele to listen to members' concerns, Ilae said.
"This is a victory for the members, because now they have a choice," Ilae said.
Ron Kozuma, Local 996's secretary and treasurer, said the union will mail ballots for the election on Tuesday and members will have until Oct. 31 to return their ballots. The results will be announced Nov. 2.
Kozuma said the union initially ruled Ilae ineligible based on information he provided to the union and its mainland parent that indicated that Ilae was late in paying his membership dues for October 2002.
However, Ilae recently provided the union with information that showed his October dues were paid on time.
Under the union's by-laws, a membe r must be current on his dues for 24 consecutive months to be eligible to run for union office.
Ilae sued the union last month to get his name on the ballot, but U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled that the union did not discriminate when it disqualified him.
Ilae has tried since 1994 to get on the ballot, the last time in 2000. Both times he was deemed ineligible. A federal judge ordered his name added to the ballot in 1994, but Michael Chambrella won that election.
Kahele was appointed president in 1996 when Chambrella died, and Kahele was elected the following year.
In addition to city bus drivers, Local 996 represents drivers employed by United Parcel Service, Queen's Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center and Kapiolani Medical Center.
