The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan rules retail giant must hand over documents relating to unionization drive at store in Weyburn to province's labour board
Organized labour has won another battle with retail giant Wal-Mart, this time in the courts.
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has sided with the United Food and Commercial Workers and the provincial labour relations board in a fight over documents related to attempts to unionize a store in Weyburn, Sask.
The Court of Appeal struck down a lower court decision and ruled the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board was within its rights when it ordered Wal-Mart to hand over documents that relate to what the UFCW calls the company’s “anti-union” strategies.
The order by the board was originally issued to Wal-Mart in June 2004 during hearings by the board on an application by the UFCW to represent employees at the Weyburn store.
“The appeal court has ruled unequivocally that Wal-Mart is not above the law,” said Michael Fraser, national director of UFCW Canada. “When the (labour relations board) asked the union to turn over our own organizing materials we complied immediately. What does Wal-Mart have to hide?”
Background on the case
In May of this year UFCW applied to the labour relations board for certification after the union said a majority of employees at the Weyburn store signed union membership cards.
During the initial hearings the board ordered Wal-Mart to hand over materials that the union claimed outlined its anti-union strategy. The board wanted to see if the company had breached provincial labour laws during the organizing campaign.
The union has argued that Wal-Mart managers were given instructions on how to derail unionization drives. For its part, Wal-Mart argued that the material — including one document titled “Toolbox to Remaining Union Free” — was irrelevant and that the union was on a fishing expedition.
In the original ruling the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench sided with Wal-Mart and squashed the labour board’s order to turn over documents.
But the Court of Appeal, in a 28-page ruling, overturned the lower court’s decision, stating that it was impossible to determine the relevance of the documents if they haven’t been produced.
“The proper procedure when there is a requirement to produce documents, whether by subpoena or otherwise, and there is a genuine dispute as to their relevance or as to whether they are privileged, is to have the documents produced, so that the tribunal charged with determining their relevance will have them available for examination,” the three-judge panel wrote in their decision.
The Court of Appeal said that was the procedure the labour relations board intended to follow, and that if the board determined the documents were irrelevant then “the privacy of (Wal-Mart) would be protected as the documents would not be provided to the (union.)”
Update on other Wal-Mart versus UFCW battles
Workers at a Wal-Mart in Jonquière, Que., were certified in August as members of UFCW Canada and are currently the only unionized Wal-Mart labour force in North America. The union said contract negotiations have begun at that store.
UFCW Canada has also applied for certification at Wal-Mart stores in:
•North Battleford and Moose Jaw, Sask.;
•Saint-Hyacinthe and Brossard, Que.; and
•Terrace, B.C.
It has also applied for certification at seven Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express departments at stores in British Columbia.
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has sided with the United Food and Commercial Workers and the provincial labour relations board in a fight over documents related to attempts to unionize a store in Weyburn, Sask.
The Court of Appeal struck down a lower court decision and ruled the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board was within its rights when it ordered Wal-Mart to hand over documents that relate to what the UFCW calls the company’s “anti-union” strategies.
The order by the board was originally issued to Wal-Mart in June 2004 during hearings by the board on an application by the UFCW to represent employees at the Weyburn store.
“The appeal court has ruled unequivocally that Wal-Mart is not above the law,” said Michael Fraser, national director of UFCW Canada. “When the (labour relations board) asked the union to turn over our own organizing materials we complied immediately. What does Wal-Mart have to hide?”
Background on the case
In May of this year UFCW applied to the labour relations board for certification after the union said a majority of employees at the Weyburn store signed union membership cards.
During the initial hearings the board ordered Wal-Mart to hand over materials that the union claimed outlined its anti-union strategy. The board wanted to see if the company had breached provincial labour laws during the organizing campaign.
The union has argued that Wal-Mart managers were given instructions on how to derail unionization drives. For its part, Wal-Mart argued that the material — including one document titled “Toolbox to Remaining Union Free” — was irrelevant and that the union was on a fishing expedition.
In the original ruling the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench sided with Wal-Mart and squashed the labour board’s order to turn over documents.
But the Court of Appeal, in a 28-page ruling, overturned the lower court’s decision, stating that it was impossible to determine the relevance of the documents if they haven’t been produced.
“The proper procedure when there is a requirement to produce documents, whether by subpoena or otherwise, and there is a genuine dispute as to their relevance or as to whether they are privileged, is to have the documents produced, so that the tribunal charged with determining their relevance will have them available for examination,” the three-judge panel wrote in their decision.
The Court of Appeal said that was the procedure the labour relations board intended to follow, and that if the board determined the documents were irrelevant then “the privacy of (Wal-Mart) would be protected as the documents would not be provided to the (union.)”
Update on other Wal-Mart versus UFCW battles
Workers at a Wal-Mart in Jonquière, Que., were certified in August as members of UFCW Canada and are currently the only unionized Wal-Mart labour force in North America. The union said contract negotiations have begun at that store.
UFCW Canada has also applied for certification at Wal-Mart stores in:
•North Battleford and Moose Jaw, Sask.;
•Saint-Hyacinthe and Brossard, Que.; and
•Terrace, B.C.
It has also applied for certification at seven Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express departments at stores in British Columbia.
