At least six unions warned Canadian Labour Congress of major issues at Winnipeg Labour Council
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/03/2019 (1835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Many local union members were aware of in-fighting at the Winnipeg Labour Council long before its president’s jaw-dropping resignation Tuesday.
Despite at least six organized labour groups calling for a Canadian Labour Congress investigation into allegations of sexist and degrading comments from Canadian Union of Public Employees members, it appears a formal investigation didn’t start until this week.
The Free Press has obtained a May 2018 letter signed by six unions, and written on Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 stationery.
The ATU — along with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 856, Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union Local 342, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2085, Union of Health and Environment Workers Local 50012 and Winnipeg Association of Public Service Officers — wrote the CLC, asking it to investigate major issues at the WLC, and “perceived incidents of intimidation and harassment brought forward by members of CUPE.”
ATU Local 1505 president Aleem Chaudhary said Thursday there was little followup.
“I was told that they would investigate, but we never did hear back from them after that. And after that, I stopped really dealing with the CLC or the WLC, because I just did not feel that it was being run properly,” he said.
CLC Prairie regional director Darla Deguire wouldn’t confirm whether a WLC investigation started last year.
Two days after labour council president Basia Sokal resigned during an explosive meeting in Winnipeg, Deguire said the CLC has begun an investigation regarding her comments.
“We have now initiated our internal investigative process. So any further comments would be inappropriate… while the process is underway,” she said by phone Thursday.
CUPE Local 500 president Gord Delbridge said he wasn’t aware of the 2018 joint letter before the Free Press sent him a copy. He refuted some of the complaints therein, and said CUPE doesn’t try to dominate discussions at the labour council.
According to its web presence, the WLC executive board is comprised of 10 members, representing some 45,000 members of affiliated unions in the Winnipeg area.
Letter to the Canadian Labour Congress
“We’ve never tried to dominate the committee with members. That’s not the case, and I think that’s shown throughout our history,” he said, noting CUPE has one seat at the executive table.
Delbridge said a conversation with the CLC did occur before the civic election last year, as political action committee members hotly debated which Winnipeg council candidates to support.
“My impression was that the CLC, as well as the rest of the affiliates, all walked out of the meeting feeling satisfied that everything was going according to their expectations,” he said.
The 2018 ATU letter came to light after Sokal spoke out about alleged sexist and degrading comments she said she was subject to while working as WLC president since January 2017.
Sokal made a 15-minute resignation speech to a room of about 60 people Tuesday, which was later uploaded online. She outlined some of the comments she’d allegedly heard from union brothers, including: “You women are all the same. If you don’t like what’s going on, why don’t you just leave?’, “‘Let me tell you a story about what happened to the last person who didn’t agree with us,” and “Nice tits.”
Delbridge said Thursday he was not aware of any inappropriate behaviour from CUPE delegates.
“There was some disagreements that took place with the (2018 civic election) endorsement process. However, I’ve always attempted to deal with union leaders and co-ordinating bodies with respect, even when we disagree,” he said.
CUPE is among the largest unions in Manitoba, representing more than 26,000 members. Some critics allege CUPE uses its large member base to stack labour council votes in its favour, not allowing for a democratic voting process.
Delbridge didn’t deny he brought many delegates to the room.
“I would always encourage that when it comes time to vote for candidates that people rally behind and encourage many people to come out, and support their cause that’s going to benefit their members. Absolutely.”
He said he welcomed the CLC investigation and said the results should be made public (as did Chaudhary).
“I think that’s important that… when there’s bullying and harassment allegations, that we wouldn’t accept any type of gender-based comments that are being reported in the workplace. Of course, we won’t tolerate those types of comments in our union either,” Delbridge said.
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @_jessbu
History
Updated on Saturday, March 23, 2019 9:09 AM CDT: corrects typo