Brave Employees Take Legal Stand Against Union Bullying

May 11, 2008 | In Law |

A vital case dealing with the issue of workplace freedom is heading to the Ontario Court of Appeal this Wednesday, as two government employees struggle to avoid punitive fines, levied by their own union.

April Luberti and Jeff Birch, two employees at Canada Revenue Agency, chose to defy the 26,000-member Union of Taxation Employees in 2004 when they crossed picket lines and agreed to work for normal wages, despite a strike organized by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Personally, I applaud the brave actions of these two employees, and take heart in the fact that even some members of our friendly tax enforcers are able to see when enough is enough. They were good natured enough to simply do what they were paid to do (taking our money), rather than nagging the government to let them take more of our money specifically to line their own pockets.

But the bigger issue at stake here is freedom of association in all workplaces throughout Canada. Unions can be a great tool for workers to voluntarily band together and negotiate with their employers in good faith. They exist to ensure equal footing between multiple parties in free and fair marketplace. In short, their purpose is to prevent bullying, and union bosses should be mindful of this in the way they conduct themselves.

In this case, union leaders are seeking to fine Jeff Birch and April Luberti to the tune of $476.75 for each day they refused to picket. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice already ruled against the union, describing the fines as “very unfair,” and designed to intimidate employees. But union bosses are intent on appealing the issue, using their members own dues to attack them in any way possible.

Rather than bullying workers who disagree with their agenda, unions should seek to build consensus amongst employees, and negotiate agreements that make sense to all parties. In the case of a severe dispute or strike, they have no legal or moral authority to enforce unanimity through coercive and punitive fines.

The National Citizens Coalition (NCC), a non-partisan conservative organization that is supporting Birch and Luberti in their struggle, has stated that it will be essentially impossible for the union to win their case on appeal.

“The law supports an employee’s right to work,” said NCC President, Peter Coleman, last month. “The unions are simply levying fines and suing even though they can’t collect in order to intimidate unionized workers who depend on their union. Unions are supposed to look out for their employee’s best interest, but instead they are using intimidation to get money it cannot collect through the courts.”