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Carpenters union files complaint after unionization cards signed by workers sent to employer
Local 579 is calling for an investigation, citing a violation of the Labour Relations Act.Mike Williams is the regional manager of Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers, which represents Carpenters Union Local 579. (Bruce Tilley/CBC) Newfoundland and Labrador’s carpenters union says an inadvertent privacy breach of Marystown workers could carry consequences for…
Local 579 is calling for an investigation, citing a violation of the Labour Relations Act.
Newfoundland and Labrador's carpenters union says an inadvertent privacy breach of Marystown workers could carry consequences for other workers in the future.
On Aug. 13, Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers Local 579, which represents about 3,000 members across the province, sent an application to the Labour Relations Board on behalf of workers on the construction site for Grieg NL's new hatchery facility in Marystown.
A copy of the application was sent to the employer by the board the following day, along with cards signed by workers to indicate whether they wanted to be part of the union. Union representative Mike Williams said the sending of the cards is a breach of the workers' privacy.
“As per the Labour Relations Act, all the information is to be kept in the strictest of confidence and they have shared this information with the employer,” he said. Williams said the union has been told the cards were sent unintentionally.
“It was a mistake, yes, but it was a very costly mistake.”
The union has filed a complaint with the province's privacy commissioner, citing a violation of the Labour Relations Act. Williams would not say whether the complaint has affected the unification process or the number of workers involved. He said the union will release more when the privacy commissioner's work is completed.
Williams called the breach a “major setback for the labour movement in the province,” and said it deter workers from attempting to unionize in the future.
“The big fear for us as a union is that going forward when we go to another member now to sign a card in an organizing campaign, they're going to come back and say, ‘How can we believe what you're telling us? How can we trust you?'” he said.
“Right now there's no trust or faith in the Labour Relations Board in this province, and members will be very hesitant in signing a card to organize due to the fact this information was breached in Marystown.”
Williams said the breach also signals the need for legislative change at the Labour Relations Board, as the cards that were released do not need to be signed in other provinces.
“The process in Newfoundland and Labrador is flawed when it comes to applying for certifications,” he said. “It needs to be changed.… This is a terrible example of what can go wrong, and what has gone wrong.”
In a statement to CBC News, Labour Relations Board CEO Glenn Branton said he is unable to discuss an active matter before the board.
Progressive Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie called the breach “staggering.”
“How such a serious breach occurred in a quasi-judicial process demands an investigation to restore public confidence,” he said in a press release Monday afternoon.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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