Who’s the bully? That’s easy. Follow the bull.
Unions in Canada constantly demand “respect” and “dignity” (in lieu of earning it, apparently). Have you ever seen a typical Canadian picket line? Have you ever crossed one? Have you ever been subject to a unionization drive? Have you ever tried to mail something in Canada just before Christmas? Have you ever tried to send your kids back to school in September? How about get into a hospital in BC anywhere near the time of a healthcare workers’ union negotiation? How about buying liquor at one of (nearly) any Canadian province’s state-run liquor stores before any festive holiday?
If you have, you know who the bully is.
A union organizer’s arrest for allegedly punching a Wal-Mart employee in Windsor, Ont. is the latest incident in an increasingly fractious battle between Wal-Mart and union forces in Canada, with both sides accusing the other of dirty dealing and thuggery.
The violence brings another layer of drama to today’s United Food and Commercial Workers vote for certification at store 3115, the first Wal-Mart to unionize in Canada eight years ago in a largely pro-union border city. The Windsor store was decertified two years later after an employee-led campaign which included allegations of union misconduct.
“Maybe in the 1940s you could expect this stuff, but in 2005 you don’t expect to get punched in the head,” said Wal-Mart employee Bryan Dickerson, who suffered a black eye and split lip during the confrontation last Thursday as union representatives were trying to drum up support in the store’s parking lot.
“[The United Food and Commercial Workers] wants to talk about respect in the workplace, and this is what they show us,” Mr. Dickerson said.
Dustin Magee, a national UFCW representative, has been “relieved of his assignment” pending a March 30 court date and an internal union investigation, said union spokesman Michael Forman. He said Mr. Magee was acting in self-defense.
Wal-Mart Canada Corp. responded yesterday by filing a charge of unfair labour practices against the union with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. In its complaint, it cites the “physical beating” of Mr. Dickerson, saying the UFCW is trying to “recruit … Wal-Mart associates at store 3115 for the purposes of engaging in espionage against their fellow associates and Wal-Mart Canada.”
[…] The altercation isn’t the first time union representatives have been accused of intimidating Wal-Mart employees; in a case pending in Saskatchewan, a group of store associates claim they were bullied and coerced into signing union cards. […]
P.S.
Yes, I have been a union member, I have been a lowly worker in all sorts of horrible places doing all sorts of horrible jobs at all hours of the day and night, a manager in a unionized company, and an owner of a business employing many people, among other things. But all you really need to be is a Canadian to know who the bullies are, how backward they are, and how stuck in the industrial age they are. “Progressives” my arse.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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