Lufa Farms is slapped on the knuckles by the Administrative Labor Tribunal, which orders it to cease its interventions in a unionization campaign. The Montreal company – which nevertheless counts the Fonds de solidarité FTQ among its investors – is criticized for having tried to discourage its employees from joining a union.
The provisional order issued on June 7 by administrative judge François Beaubien concerns the thirty employees of the urban greenhouse located in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent. It stems from a complaint from Local 501 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) – which already represents the Laval employees of the company.
According to the document, the employer would have held two meetings with its employees, last Monday, during their working hours, in order to warn them about union actions. Communications Director Yourianne Plante, Human Resources Manager Alison Pearce and two other managers were on hand.
“[Ms. Plante] said the first thing that would happen [if the union joined] would be the deduction of union dues from wages,” the UFCW complaint points out.
Union allegations allege that Ms. Plante also raised several arguments to try to discourage the workers. For example, the entry of a union would prevent the company from discussing working conditions directly with employees, Ms. Plante reportedly said.
“We are active with campaigns in the other two greenhouses and the distribution center,” Nil Ataogul, UFCW organizing coordinator, said in a phone interview. We want them to understand that there are consequences to what they do and avoid other similar encounters in other greenhouses, where we want to protect freedom of association. »
The union obtained a temporary injunction, pleading the urgency to act in order to put an end to the interventions of Lufa Farms. According to the company, the union campaign was “poorly orchestrated” and the events referred to in the UFCW complaint “occurred in the hubbub of the beginning.”
Obviously, the administrative judge saw things differently.
“The union has demonstrated that, absent court intervention, the harm the actions may cause it is likely to frustrate the unionization process,” the seven-page decision reads. This is serious and irreparable harm. »
By e-mail, the company specializing in urban agriculture stressed that it had “acknowledged” the interim order and intended to comply with it.
Until the union’s complaint is argued on its merits, Lufa Farms and its representatives must refrain from “discussing, directly or indirectly” the ongoing organizing campaign. The administrative judge’s order must also be displayed “in plain view” on the premises of the company.
