Employer conducted 'witch hunt': Union
When sanitation truck driver Kenneth Porter discovered some chocolate peanut squares were removed from his truck, it caused him to angrily berate the co-worker who admitted to what he called a harmless joke.
On Feb. 17, 2016, Porter was given the squares by a woman on his refuse route in Fort McMurray, Alta. The woman regularly handed out treats to workers, which were usually taken back to the lunchroom and shared.
But before Porter returned to the lunchroom, he stopped at a Tim Horton’s restaurant and went inside. When he returned to the truck, the squares were gone.
Porter had seen colleague Jeff Fitzpatrick at the same Tim Horton’s and thought he was to blame.
When Porter arrived at the lunchroom, Fitzpatrick dropped the package of squares in front of him and laughed. Porter said he felt “hurt and embarrassed” and stood up to confront Fitzpatrick.
He called him a “f---ing thief” and said Fitzpatrick had no right to go into other worker’s trucks. After a brief but heated confrontation, Porter left the office.
Lee Chambers, supervisor collections, was advised about the incident via email and the pair spoke the next day. Porter said the most troubling thing about Fitzpatrick going into his truck was the invasion of privacy in a space that contained personal items such as a wallet or a cell phone.
After speaking to witnesses, a report was written by Chambers that said in part: “Ken was threatening to kick Jeff’s ass and to punch him in the face.”
Another meeting took place on March 15, and Chambers testified he didn’t believe Porter’s version of the events and that he did threaten Fitzpatrick.
On April 1, Porter was terminated. A letter that accompanied the firing said: “Since October 2013 you have received three disciplinary suspensions on file and one written warning. We have seen no improvement in your behaviour with continued outbursts and aggression towards co-workers and members of the public.”
The union, Canadian Union of Public Employees, grieved the firing and argued the investigation was more of a “witch hunt” rather than a fact-finding effort.
Arbitrator Alan Beattie upheld the grievance and ordered the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo to reinstate Porter and substitute a five-day suspension for the termination.
“I consider that to be a serious response to Porter’s participation in the incident and consistent with the concept of progressive discipline. The grievor will now be on notice that any such anger-related conduct in the future will, in all probability, result in termination,” said Beattie.
Chambers’ actions during the investigation contributed adversely to the termination decision, according to Beattie. “We cannot confirm what he said in the interview because Chambers did not take notes. That is another indicia of a flawed investigation.”
Fitzpatrick was fingered as the initial cause of the lunchroom event, which was not properly taken into account.
“He knew the grievor can have a short fuse and he deliberately set out to push his button by taking the squares out of the truck and later tossing them on the table and laughing at the grievor in front of his co-workers ” said Beattie.
"The reaction was predictable given how humiliated he felt at the provocation which was on top of the grievor’s already festering indignation at having had his truck entered and the squares removed,” said Beattie.
Reference: Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1505. Alan Beattie — arbitrator. Candace Bernstein, Charles Warriner for the employer. Robert Szollosy for the employee. Feb. 19, 2017
