Unifor found in contempt, fined $100K

Unifor is going to have to dig deep into its wallet after a Regina Court of Queen’s Bench judge ruled the union was in contempt of court.

On Dec. 18, Justice Janet McMurtry issued an interim order telling picketers they could only hold up vehicles and people entering and leaving Co-op refinery property for up to five minutes, and only to give information and solicit support.

If a driver indicated they wanted to pass by without the information, then they had to be allowed to do so. An order from Dec. 24 lengthened the time to 10 minutes, at most.

The refinery lawyers submitted an application to the court soon after with affidavits and video from the three days after the interim order was issued, saying vehicles and people were being held up at refinery gates for hours in some cases.

The people in the refinery affidavits said the picketers demanded ID from anyone trying to get in before they would be allowed through the gates and ignored warnings about the substance of the injunction.

In one case, the refinery’s lawyer presented evidence that a bus carrying 18 refinery managers was stopped at a gate for nearly four hours because they didn’t present identification to the picketers.

In his decision, Justice Timothy Keene said three things must be proven in a contempt case: That the order was clear and unequivocal; that the party had notice of the order; and, that the order was intentionally violated.

In Keene’s decision released Wednesday, he wrote that he was “easily satisfied” the union intentionally disobeyed the order.

“This uncontradicted evidence clearly shows a course of conduct directly, and at times in a determined fashion, to ignore the order. Union members are actively engaged in preventing ingress or egress from (the refinery’s) designated properties and facilities,” Keene wrote in the decision.

Keene said he believed the interim order to have been clear and unequivocal.

“I find that the order is well drafted and lends itself to easy and understandable reading. It is clear. It is unequivocal. I am not sure what more I can say than this,” he wrote.

And, according to Keene, the union didn’t contest that it had knowledge of the order.

Keene dismissed the union’s argument which suggested that the order was “somehow” hard to understand or could be interpreted to excuse the union’s actions.

Speaking to media at the end of December and in early January, Unifor spokespeople said they “interpreted” the order to mean they could hold up the vehicles for that time, regardless of whether they indicated they wanted to pass or not.

Keene’s decision also noted that the union tried to argue that these arguments are moot because a “real” order replaced the interim order on Dec. 24. Keene wasn’t convinced.

“An order is to be followed regardless if it is an interim order or final order,” he wrote.

The refinery put a dollar value on each of the instances it had put evidence of in front of the court, totalling $150,000.  The judge, however, decided to lay a fine of $100,000.

“I believe that should be significant enough to sanction the Union and provide a deterrence for the future, if necessary,” said Keene.

The refinery was also awarded costs for the action.

In a statement, the Co-op Refinery Complex said it was pleased with the ruling.

“This decision is reassuring as it demonstrates that our legal system works and that the rule of law will be upheld when individuals or organizations choose to subvert it,” the statement said.

“Unifor continues to engage in illegal activity (Wednesday), but we hope that the fine and penalty levied against Unifor by the court (Wednesday), together with the court’s statement of ‘the need to follow court orders, particularly those intended to bring some level of stability to a tense labour dispute,’ will serve to deter future illegal activity going forward.”

The union has been blockading the refinery since Monday. That action followed blockades around Co-op cardlocks and stores in Regina and Weyburn.

Picketers grow in numbers

Union leaders from across the country flew to Regina and mixed in with cheering local branch members to show solidarity and shore up the picket line Wednesday.

As the news broke about the contempt of court ruling, the Unifor leaders didn’t flinch.

“We’re holding the line,” Unifor secretary-treasurer Lana Payne said in response to media questions about whether they would move fences. “I don’t know how much clearer I can be.”

Payne led the rally in place of national president Jerry Dias, who was not legally allowed to be at the picket lines after his arrest Monday night. Calls of “Free Jerry” mixed with “Shame” chants from the crowd as various national leaders spoke about the cause.

(Adriana Christianson/980 CJME)

CUPE national president Mark Hancock took his turn firing up the crowd and calling for an apology from police over the arrest of union activists including Dias. Hancock said his phone blew up with messages that night, which is why he got on a plane to Regina.

“The police had done something terrible, they had created a powder keg, one that was about to explode,” Hancock said. “Arresting Jerry and all of those Unifor activists was incredibly stupid.”

Looking around to a mix of private and public sector union banners, he conceded they all have their differences. Hancock said it is important to send a message that this fight is about the rights of workers.

“If they take away pensions in the private sector, we in the public sector know they’re coming after ours next,” Hancock shouted.

Canadian Federation of Nurses president Linda Silas also proudly pointed out all of the different flags flying in solidarity.

“This is our Saskatchewan where we do not steal pensions,” Silas said. “This is our Saskatchewan where we do not waste police resources on peaceful picket lines.”

As president of Unifor Local 594, Kevin Bittman said he never imagined the labour dispute would come to this point, but said the turnout shows momentum is building. He hammered down on the main points of the lockout with Co-op.

“Here we are making $3 million a day and they’re coming for half my pension,” Bittman said.

National and provincial unions are showing up to show solidarity at a rally for Unifor picketers outside the fence at the Coop Refinery. They say this fight is about the rights of all workers. pic.twitter.com/RQkxACqShf

— Adriana Christianson (@AdrianaC_JME) January 22, 2020

In response to the concessions Federated Co-operatives Limited has left on the table, Bittman said the truth as Unifor sees it is that the only choice FCL has offered is to lose half their pension.

“Our lines are strong because we’re not being greedy and we’re only trying to protect what we have,” Bittman said.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Adriana Christianson