A12 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 29, 1994 Carpenters facing a second law suit A CONSTRUCTION company has filed a provincial supreme court suit for damages against a union for the second timd in two months. In both cases Ledcor, w ch has a construction contract] at the Methanex plant in Kitimal, says the carpenters: union ‘has inter- fered with its ability and those of its employees to do work at the site. ‘The first suit was ended when the union signed a consent ordsr agreeing not to trespass at the site, not to congregate at the loca- tion and not to threaten, harass or assault company employees. ledcor official Glen /Warren said last week the company filed . the second suit to obtain com- pensation for losses it says it suf- fered as a result of union activity. “Out of all that these} people have done, there are costs associ- ated with that,”’ said Warren. “We have lost days on the site. We have a very tight schedule on this job.”’ Carpenters union official Paul Johnson called the first suit an at- lempt to stop the union} talking about Ledcor. Labour probe ended A LOCAL union official says he’s partially satisfied -by the results of an Ombudsmanjinvesti- galion into a complaint filed about the actions of a labour min- istry official. Fred Glover of the BLC. and Yukon Building Trades Council had either collected or written let- ters about a 1988 vote ata north- erm gold mine. Workers at the Cheni gqld mine northeast of Smithers were asked by the company to vaty their working hours. The conipany. wanted the num- ber of holits“itdida’t have to pay overtime extended beyond what is called for in the Employment Standards Act. ’ ‘Tn a vote among workers, which upheld the variance, Glover al- leged that Terrace-based labour ministry officiat Roger Davis did nol acl impartially. : “As a result of our investiga- lion, we are satisfied that events did not take place exactly as out- line ...”” said Ombudsman official Keith Henders in a I¢tter to Glover. “We are satisfied that the resulting decision (to vary hours) accurately reflected the workers’ wishes, We were not able to find any evidence of coercion or threatening ..’? Henders con- tinued, Davis and another labour minis- try official met in a different room with each worker individu- ally and determined whether they supported the variance or/not and recorded the answer. Skeena MLA Helmut Gies- brecht asked the Ombudsman to lake a look at the matter in response to requests by Glover. Glover said he had problems with the way the Ombutlsman’s office conducted the injvestiga- tion. *'They only had 15 minte con- versalions each with two of the people who sent letters,’’/he said. But he is happy with the Om- budsman’s plan to ask the labour ministry to consider having secret ballots in some situations, “We can see how situations like’ this can result in uncertainty for some and can be open to misinterpretation,’? wrote Om- budsman official sat “It may well be that) using a secret ballot in ciroumsfances in which a variance proposal is con- tentious would increase con- fidence in the outcome,’' he con- tinued. “T think that’s the end of it Maybe it'll help in the! future,’’ said Glover. Fraser Lake resident Ken Reay, one of two people who wrote Ict- ters about the variance procedure and who was contacted by the Ombudsman, said the request for sccrel ballots makes sensé. “I’m glad they'd like jo have a secret ballot,” he said. Reay added that the effects of the variance meant thousands of dollars -in lost overtime to workers, | “It was a big loss. 1 af $8,000 just by myself,’’ he said. And the union is now confer- ring with its lawyers on the sec- ond Filing, “The only thing I can think of is they were trying to shut us up,”’ said Johnson of the first suit. “By signing the consent order we've agreed not to do anything we have not done: in the. first place,”’ he said. Johnson noted that Ledcor had already received a cease and desist order against the carpenters union to stop picketing before it filed for damages the first time. Johnson said the carpenters unién agreed to the consent order to save the cost of fighting Led- cor’s damage claim. “The only time we didn’t talk was for the 13 days between the filing for damages and the sign- ing of the consent order,’’ Johnson continued. “The second suit has the ap- pearance of another eitempt to put a chill on the union,’ he said. “Well, they can do what they feel is necessary and we will do what is necessary,” said Watren when asked to comment on Johnson’s comments. The union opposes Ledcor’s hiring of workers from outside the province and its certifying with the Christian Labour Assaci- ation of Canada. It says that union signs con- tracts paying lower wages and providing fewer benefits than those contained under main line union contracts, Ledcor's second suit alleges the union «has = conducted =a defamatory publicity campaign against it and its collective agree- ment with the Christian Labour Association of Canada, It further alleges union mem- bers harassed Ledcor employees and disrupted work at the Methanex site to the point where the company suffered financial loss. VANDERHOOF INTERNATIONAL July 22-24th, 1994 * Wet Suits * Gloves Top of the line Kidder Waterski’s, Knee Boards and Tubes, in various sizes and colours. Take summer to the extreme and GET WET! Professional or Beginners We've got the accessories you need to get you to the beach, * Life Jackets * Tow Ropes Accept No edie? Pas —le rae No Boat? No Problem! 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