Cannabis company intimidated efforts to unionize: labour board

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An Alberta hashish producer crossed the road greater than as soon as to undermine a unionization effort amongst its workers, the province’s labor relations board has dominated.

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Administration at Calgary-based Sundial Growers intimidated workers after they tried to attend a union briefing on July 13 of final 12 months in a gathering room on the public library in Olds, the place the corporate has a develop operation , the Alberta Labor Relations Board dominated.

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Teamsters Native Union 987 filed an unfair labor observe grievance towards Sundial when it mentioned two members of administration arrived on the library simply as workers had been arriving for a gathering.

Union organizer Preston Quinton mentioned he had a verbal altercation with Photo voltaic Scheduling Supervisor Alan Corrales exterior the library.

Workers ‘scared’

Quinton mentioned he instructed Corrales it was “form of bizarre for a supervisor to point out as much as an employee-only assembly.”

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Quinton then canceled the assembly, fearing that workers can be noticed by firm managers.

“Mr. Quinton testified at this level that the individuals had been ‘fairly scared,'” the ruling reads.

The board heard the union had scheduled one other assembly for July 20, however then canceled that one as properly.

“Quinton testified that he was instructed folks had been ‘too afraid to go to a gathering’,” reads the board’s January 25 resolution.

“He testified that the union has suspended any employer certification efforts presently and is reconsidering its choices.”

Council agrees with union on managers’ rationalization

Corrales instructed the board he went to the July 13 assembly with an operations supervisor, Latifa Dewji, “out of curiosity” after studying concerning the gathering and seeing a Teamster flyer posted exterior the office is distributed.

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He mentioned that after Quinton took a mobile phone photograph of his automobile’s quantity plate, and after discussing it on the telephone with one other driver who instructed him “after all you should not be there”, he and Dewji left .

Dewji and Corrales instructed the board they went to the assembly questioning in the event that they could possibly be represented by the union and the corporate argued the assembly was not an organizational one.

However the board agreed with the union that the gathering was meant to advertise unionization and that the 2 managers’ said causes for going there weren’t credible.

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“The board is happy that the actions of Mr. Corrales and Ms. Dewji whereas attending the positioning of the assembly constituted interference by the employer with the illustration of workers by the union,” the board mentioned in its resolution.

“The employer … sought by intimidation or threats to pressure workers to not develop into union members.”

Union efforts proceed

Accordingly, the board ordered Sundial to stop any efforts to intervene with workers’ efforts to unionize.

And it additionally ordered the corporate to permit workers to attend a one-hour paid assembly with the union in two separate work shifts.

The union mentioned it has not but scheduled that assembly, however added that it intends to proceed organizing efforts at Sundial.

It additionally mentioned no hashish companies in Alberta have unionized workforces.

Sundial didn’t reply to a request for remark Thursday.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn