In the West Fraser Mills Ltd. (Cariboo Division) v. United Steelworkers, Local 1-424 (Dues Payments Grievance), [2011] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 108 (No. A-069/11) issued September 5, 2011 arbitrator Robert Pekeles allowed the union's grievance that the employer had failed to remit dues. The following summary is provided by Diane MacLean.
The employer amalgamated with Weldwood in 2005 and became the successor employer. The union and the employer had a Letter of Understanding (“LOU”) confirming an agreement that had been in place since 1955. The LOU provided, in part, that “in regard to logging contractors employed by the Company in the Quesnel area”:
We shall hold our uncertified logging contractors responsible to abide by the relevant portions of the present Agreement, in particular as it regards wage scale, holiday pay and seniority clauses. Dues for all employees and a list of employees for whom dues are submitted must be submitted to the Local Union once a month, without application for Union membership.
Dues deductions went smoothly until 2006, when the logging contractors started logging not only on the old Weldwood forest tenures, but also on some West Fraser tenures. At some point, dues from some of the logging contractors were no longer being remitted to the union, without any explanation. At the hearing, the employer said that dues were no longer payable and the LOU no longer applicable because the tenures were untraceable and the contractors were logging on all of the tenures, i.e., tenures previously held by West Fraser and those previously held by Weldwood.
The arbitrator stated that “the primary resource for determining the mutual intention of the parties is the language of the Collective Agreement itself.” Given the age of the agreement (since 1955), there was no evidence of negotiation history, but there was evidence as to practice. The arbitrator said he had no doubt about the proper meaning of the collective agreement language in question:
I agree that under the terms of the Collective Agreement, the “Company” was Weldwood (Cariboo Division). In 2005, Weldwood and West Fraser merged. The Employer became the successor employer. As such, the Employer became bound by the Collective Agreement. The Letter of Understanding is part of the Collective Agreement. Thus, just as Weldwood (Cariboo Division) was bound by the Letter of Understanding “in regard to logging contractors employed by the Company in the Quesnel area”, so the Employer became so bound. Just as Weldwood (Cariboo Division) was bound to “hold our uncertified logging contractors responsible to abide by the relevant portions of the present Agreement”, so the Employer became so bound.
The arbitrator did not accept the employer’s argument that the agreement did not apply to contractors who no longer logged exclusively on tenures held by Weldwood. The important issue was whether the logging contractors were employed in the “Quesnel area”. The arbitrator order the payment of the dues with interest.
The employer amalgamated with Weldwood in 2005 and became the successor employer. The union and the employer had a Letter of Understanding (“LOU”) confirming an agreement that had been in place since 1955. The LOU provided, in part, that “in regard to logging contractors employed by the Company in the Quesnel area”:
We shall hold our uncertified logging contractors responsible to abide by the relevant portions of the present Agreement, in particular as it regards wage scale, holiday pay and seniority clauses. Dues for all employees and a list of employees for whom dues are submitted must be submitted to the Local Union once a month, without application for Union membership.
Dues deductions went smoothly until 2006, when the logging contractors started logging not only on the old Weldwood forest tenures, but also on some West Fraser tenures. At some point, dues from some of the logging contractors were no longer being remitted to the union, without any explanation. At the hearing, the employer said that dues were no longer payable and the LOU no longer applicable because the tenures were untraceable and the contractors were logging on all of the tenures, i.e., tenures previously held by West Fraser and those previously held by Weldwood.
The arbitrator stated that “the primary resource for determining the mutual intention of the parties is the language of the Collective Agreement itself.” Given the age of the agreement (since 1955), there was no evidence of negotiation history, but there was evidence as to practice. The arbitrator said he had no doubt about the proper meaning of the collective agreement language in question:
I agree that under the terms of the Collective Agreement, the “Company” was Weldwood (Cariboo Division). In 2005, Weldwood and West Fraser merged. The Employer became the successor employer. As such, the Employer became bound by the Collective Agreement. The Letter of Understanding is part of the Collective Agreement. Thus, just as Weldwood (Cariboo Division) was bound by the Letter of Understanding “in regard to logging contractors employed by the Company in the Quesnel area”, so the Employer became so bound. Just as Weldwood (Cariboo Division) was bound to “hold our uncertified logging contractors responsible to abide by the relevant portions of the present Agreement”, so the Employer became so bound.
The arbitrator did not accept the employer’s argument that the agreement did not apply to contractors who no longer logged exclusively on tenures held by Weldwood. The important issue was whether the logging contractors were employed in the “Quesnel area”. The arbitrator order the payment of the dues with interest.
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