A candidate for the top office of the United Public Workers union has filed a protest over the handling of the October union election, and an American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees International representative is scheduled to consider the complaint Jan. 3.

Jerald Satake, a janitor at Hawaii Community College and a candidate for UPW state president this year, alleges the notices of nomination and notice of election were both sent out later than allowed under AFSCME rules.

Satake also claims the UPW election at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Oct. 26 violated the AFSCME requirement that elections be held by “secret ballot.”

“The election room afforded absolutely no privacy to cast ballots,” Satake wrote in a complaint to the AFSCME Judicial Panel. “In fact there was an observer who watched individuals cast ballots on a open table with no partitions or curtains to ensure privacy.”

Satake is Bargaining Unit 1 secretary for the UPW Hawaii Island Division for the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College. He ran unsuccessfully against UPW President James Wataru.

UPW has about 13,000 members, including public- and private-sector hospital employees, corrections officers and blue-­collar nonsupervisory employees with the state and counties.

Satake alleges myriad “election flaws” and improprieties and is asking that the results be overturned and a new election be held. He also contends it was improper to hold the election at the airport because the location is owned by the state and does not qualify as a “neutral” site.

The 39th Convention of United Public Workers AFSCME Local 646 AFL-CIO was originally supposed to be held at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel on Oct. 26 and 27 but was moved to the airport because UPW would not cross picket lines during the hotel workers’ strike.

A spokesman for UPW said the union reviewed the handling of the election and concluded it complied with the union’s constitution, AFSCME election rules and procedures, and with the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.

AFSCME Vice President David R. Fillman has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 3 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village to consider Satake’s complaint.