Worker 'shaken, confused and distraught' after incident
A worker at the Cargill North Vancouver Grain Terminal was dismissed from his job after making numerous accusations that his bossed bullied, harassed and unfairly targeted him while on the job.
On April 15, 2016, supervisor Mike Misner was inspecting grain spouts at the facility that had to be constantly cleaned due to potentially deadly dust floating in the air.
Misner discovered the letters “FMM” were written in dust and went to find out who may have written the acronym, commonly known at the workplace as meaning “Fuck Mike Misner,” due to his tough and demanding nature.
Misner found Brock Ritchie and Diane Clarke were cleaning the annex nearby where the graffiti was found. According to Ritchie, Misner confronted him, poked him in the chest and kicked him in his heels as he walked away.
Ritchie also said he put his hands in the air and said, “Don’t touch me,” to Misner. All claims were denied by Misner, who testified he was tough with Ritchie because he was known to be “lazy.”
The following day, after consulting with a steward, Ritchie wrote an email to Misner to complain about his treatment and said, “I felt threatened, intimidated, bullied and shocked. Even now, hours later, I am equal parts shaken, confused and distraught.”
Ritchie CCed four members of management, who were based in Cargill’s Winnipeg head office.
Ritchie also referenced an incident from March 12 in which he accused Misner of being “wild-eyed and breathless” during another confrontation in a stairwell.
Considering it was a serious charge of physical assault against a manager, Cargill conducted an investigation employing Suzanne Kennedy, an outside consultant.
Kennedy conducted interviews with the relevant parties, while Misner was sent home with pay.
On May 4, Kennedy submitted a report that found the stairwell incident did not constitute harassment and the annex case was not as Ritchie described it. Kennedy testified Ritchie never requested he not work with Misner in future, or that Misner be disciplined.
While on shift May 14, Ritchie went into the supervisor’s office and saw Misner present. Ritchie said he was surprised to see him back as nobody had told him.
Ritchie later cut himself on a door and received medical attention. He also passed out due to what he said was stress at seeing Misner back on the job. He took a few weeks off for medical leave.
On June 17, a meeting was held and Ritchie was informed of Kennedy’s findings. He said he didn’t agree with the report, but he would “abide by it” and he would be “working hard” to help get over his feelings about Misner.
But on June 29, Ritchie was terminated via letter that stated: “Cargill has concluded that the employee-employer relationship is damaged beyond repair.”
The following day, the Grain Workers’ Union (GWU), Local 333, grieved the decision. “Brock was terminated unjustly, due to reporting a confrontation between him and a supervisor.”
Arbitrator Arne Peltz dismissed the grievance. “Having found (Ritchie’s) complaint to be intentionally false, I am driven to conclude that the termination must be upheld.”
Management did try to repair the situation during the June meeting, said the arbitrator. But it fell on deaf ears. “He was expecting an explanation, if (Ritchie) stood by the complaint, as to how (Ritchie) could earn back a measure of trust. At the very least, (general manager Gerry) Dickie expected some mitigating comments, such as for example an admission that the annex incident had been exaggerated.”
All blame for the outcome should be placed squarely on Ritchie, according to Peltz. “While the ultimate consequences are very unfortunate for (Ritchie), he bears responsibility for choosing to make a false allegation of grave misconduct against his supervisor.”
Reference: Cargill Ltd. and Grain Workers’ Union, Local 333. Arne Peltz — arbitrator. Peter Csiszar for the employer. Charles Gordon for the employee. Dec. 5, 2017. 2017 CarswellNat 7086
