Despite the company lawyer’s requests for swift action, a Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge refused to grant an interim injunction to Weston Foods Canada Ltd. against striking Dominion workers Tuesday, saying there was no reason for one.
Weston Foods — a bakery owned by George Weston Ltd., which also operates Dominion’s parent company, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. — is seeking an injunction preventing members of Unifor Local 597 from unlawfully picketing at the bakery in Mount Pearl.
Striking workers set up a picket line outside the outlet a week ago, preventing trucks carrying product from leaving the site in an effort to pressure their employer to go back to the bargaining table. The picket line was dismantled by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary overnight Oct. 27. The union has said it plans to sue the police for allegedly overstepping their authority and breaching workers’ rights when they shut down the picket line.
In court Tuesday, Justice James Adams said he was prepared to set a date for Weston’s application to be heard. Weston lawyer Kate O’Neill asked for an interim order in the meantime, given the perishable nature of the food involved. O'Neil noted the workers are not currently blocking vehicles at the bakery.
“If there’s nothing going on, what am I going to enjoin?” the judge asked her.
O’Neill asked him to consider statements she said were made publicly by union representatives indicating workers had a right to block access to the property without an injunction in place.
“I don’t think I need to lecture the defendant on the need to maintain lawful conduct and I’m not prepared to do so. If they participate in unlawful conduct there are clear consequences for them and I’m going to leave it at that.”
The blockades at the bakery happened the same day a different judge had issued an injunction preventing the union members from unlawfully picketing the Loblaw distribution centre in Mount Pearl, O'Neill pointed out, noting the workers’ lead negotiator had been present in the courtroom when that judge laid out what constitutes unlawful picketing.
“It should be clear to the union that blockading trucks in the manner undertaken by the pickets at the distribution centre was unlawful,” Justice Valerie Marshall had said.
ONeill stressed Weston was not looking to limit lawful picketing or stifle the striking workers’ right to expression.
“You’re saying that they can have lawful pickets … but you don’t want them to break the law. They’re not breaking the law. There’s nothing happening at the moment, I gather,” Adams said.
“You are correct, My Lord,” O’Neill replied, “but there’s a stated understanding of Unifor that it can go back and do that.”
The judge suggested the union’s statement could be just hype.
“How do I know what they truly intend to do until they do it?” he asked.
Representing Unifor, lawyer Kyle Rees argued there was no need for an immediate hearing and asked the court for time to prepare his arguments on the injunction. He submitted Weston Foods had not followed correct court procedure in filing the application.
Adams scheduled a hearing for Nov. 18 and declined a request by O’Neill to — at the least — issue a statement to Unifor establishing it cannot unlawfully picket, injunction or not.
“I don’t think I need to lecture the defendant on the need to maintain lawful conduct and I’m not prepared to do so,” the judge replied. “If they participate in unlawful conduct, there are clear consequences for them and I’m going to leave it at that.”
Tuesday afternoon. Unifor announced an expansion of its action in support of its 1,400 striking members by establishing secondary pickets at Loblaw distribution centres in Ajax, Ont., and Moncton, N.B.
As the strike ended its 10th week, Loblaw and Unifor returned to the negotiating table briefly last Thursday but discussions ended after they failed to come to an agreement. The union said the company had not made any improvement to its initial offer of a $1-per-hour wage increase over three years.
“People across the country need to know that something is wrong when workers work full-time hours for Loblaw Co. but can’t afford to buy the groceries they stock,” Local 597 president Carolyn Wrice said in a media release.
On Monday, Immigration, Skills and Labour Minister Gerry Byrne told reporters he had appointed former Labour Relations Agency CEO Wayne Fowler as a mediator to help settle the strike.
Tara Bradbury reports on justice and the courts in St. John’s.
