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Courtesy Chrysler Workers – Justice Delayed, But Not Denied |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 August, 2003-08-28 DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia – IAM members have finally won a judgement forcing their employer to pay what the Machinists Union had won for them at the Labour Relations Board. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia handed down a judgement on 24 August, 2003 obliging Courtesy Chrysler to pay the eight mechanics and parts workers of Local Lodge 1763 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia their regular pay retroactive to when they went on strike in May 2001. The members of the automotive dealership had been seeking their first contract when they voted to go on strike. The provincial labour board had already ruled that the company had been bargaining in bad faith and ordered it to pay all back wages. The ruling specified that the payment be made by September 2001. Unfortunately, the union was decertified just after the ruling was made, leaving the workers no way of collecting. Through an appeal the company sought a reversal of the decision, but only pursued it after the union no longer remained the representative. The company sought the reversal based on an allegation of misconduct it levelled at the Board. But Judge Arthur Leblanc ruled that the workers had a bona fide claim to the money and to delay payment would be “a great injustice.” Workers from Local Lodge 1763 received support from many unions as well as the Nova Scotia NDP and NDP MPPs. Brian Beaton, Grand Lodge Representative for the Machinists Union, who has stayed with the case since it started, said of the judgement, “this was clearly a case of judgement delayed. When that happens, it generally means that justice has been denied. I think we can finally say that although the workers have waited a long time, justice has finally been served.” - 30 -
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