Decisions made for 'legitimate business reasons': Arbitrator
When Michael Shepherd and Gareth Dobson returned from apprentice training school in early 2016 to resume their regular maintenance jobs at the Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, Alta., both were unhappy after being advised they had to work on Saturday and Sunday.
The employer argued that due to operational needs, a more experienced journeyman was needed during the weekdays — when the lodge was less busy — so maintenance work could be better performed. During the weekends, there was a need for less-experienced apprentices such as Shepherd and Dobson to be on duty.
Wayne Hnatyshin, director of engineering, testified the lodge had been challenged to improve its level of maintenance due to declining business during the 2014-15 season.
He said he regularly heard from some guests at the lodge that the level of service had dropped in recent years and some promised not to return until the upkeep was improved.
J.D. Power, a consumer insights consultancy, advised the lodge owner, Fairmont Hotels, that Jasper lodge was rated in the bottom 10 per cent of its hotels in terms of guest satisfaction for 2014 and 2015.
Lodge management undertook a comprehensive look at maintenance operations in an effort to better serve customers and decided to make the change to scheduling.
Hnatyshin said by 2016, the level of satisfaction had improved significantly.
The union, Unifor, Local 4534, grieved the decisions separately in March and April 2016. It argued the collective agreement allowed for changes to schedules only when “necessary.” But the company did not establish that the changes to Shepherd and Dobon’s scheduling were “necessary.”
It said there were no “carpenter emergencies” on the weekends in the past, so the new scheduling regime was not needed.
As well, Dobson’s level of training would suffer because he would not be paired with a journeyman on the weekend when he was working, said the union.
Arbitrator Cheryl Yingst Bartel dismissed the grievances and said the employer was well within its management rights when it made the change.
“The decision of the employer to concentrate its most experienced staff during the week was made for the legitimate business reasons to gain the greatest efficiencies in the completion of work when the hotel is historically at its lowest occupancy — by its most senior labour force — with the least impact to guests. I find the decision was objectively reasonable, made in good faith, was made to achieve operational efficiencies and as such was made for legitimate business reasons.”
The argument that management should have consulted with the union before making any changes was also denied by the arbitrator.
“While I sympathize with the frustration of the union in not being advised of certain of this information at an earlier stage in this process, and while discussion between union and management should always be encouraged to foster strong labour relations (as has historically been the case between these parties), I note that there was no obligation in this collective agreement for the employer to do so,” said Bartel.
And Dobson’s training level would not suffer due to the changes, she said.
“While Dobson had concerns with the quality of his apprenticeship as a result of the change, I find that these concerns were not well-founded. Dobson was not entitled to any guarantee that he would be working five days per week with his journeyman, even had his regular days off not changed."
Reference: Jasper Park Lodge and Unifor, Local 4534. Cheryl Yingst Bartel — arbitrator. Michael Vos for the employer. Brenda Kuzio for the employee. May 31, 2017.
