Blunder Procedure and Pay the Price

Unionized employees have little recourse to the courts

Daniel A. Lublin

Toronto Metro News, Wednesday, July 11, 2007

When Garry and Mark Coleman heard that fellow employee Wayne Demers was planning to file a fraudulent insurance benefits claim, they blew the whistle to their employer.  Demers was immediately fired.  Then, in typical union fashion, hostility brewed among Demers’ former union brethren.  When that hostility escalated into fear, the Colemans resigned.  Months later, with their jobs gone and their reputations in tatters, they turned to the courts instead of their union to grieve their alleged wrongs.  Their decision proved fatal to their case. 

As is the typical problem with unionized employees proceeding to sue in court, they should approach jurisdictional issues practically.  Chances are that the court will not entertain their grievance and will instead, order that the matter was better heard in front of an arbitrator – usually after it is too late.

For more, click to to read the entire article – “Blunder Procedure and it could cost you“

Daniel A. Lublin is a Toronto Employment Lawyer specializing in the law of Wrongful Dismissal.  He can be reached at www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com