Union Fights Closure of Jonquiere, Quebec WM
By Kevin on Unions
Yea, we're gonna have another boycott:
alwayslowprices.net
Wal-Mart Canada Corp.'s decision to close its first unionized store could spark a protracted legal battle, a possible national boycott, and the retailer could be forced to re-open the store, the high-powered lawyer for the union says.
Paul Cavalluzzo declined to confirm what direction the United Food and Commercial Workers were likely to take at a press conference scheduled for today. But he said the union has three options in front of it: legal action, an economic boycott and political pressure.
UFCW national director Michael Fraser has already said the union will file an unfair labour practice charge against Wal-Mart with the Quebec Labour Relations Board. And more actions are coming, a source close to the union said yesterday.
A labour board challenge, if successful, could force Wal-Mart to re-open the store or expose it to significant fines, "in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions," said Cavalluzzo, who was lead counsel in the Walkerton water inquiry.
"There's no limit to what the board can order to rectify a violation of the labour law," Cavalluzzo said in a telephone interview late yesterday. The union would first have to prove the company had violated its duty to bargain in good faith, he said. |
