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The Law of Work
Law of Work Archive

City of Guelph Locks Out Its' Bus Drivers

by David Doorey July 21, 2014
written by David Doorey July 21, 2014

People in Guelph are walking, biking, scootering, or driving to work this morning.  There’s no buses on the road thanks to a decision of the City to lock out its transit workers.
The lockout follows a second rejected proposed settlement by the employees.  That tells us that the

Guelph Transit Workers Locked Out

Guelph Transit Workers Locked Out


workers are really pissed, and also that the union bargaining team misread the membership’s attitude.  The union’s executive had recommended the proposed deal that was ‘overwhelmingly rejected’ by the workers.  No collective agreement can come into force in Ontario unless it is approved in a ‘ratification vote’ (section 44).  This law allows workers to veto a deal that both the employer and the union’s bargaining team had approved.  It was introduced by the Mike Harris Conservative government in 1995.
In this case, the City of Guelph responded to the failed ratification vote by locking out its workers.  It could have simply imposed its final offer instead, which included small wage increases and some other changes, and told the workers to keep driving their buses.  Presumably, the City felt that strategy would not be prudent in the circumstances.  Can you suggest why that might be?
The Ontario government has decided that public transit is an essential service in one city only–Toronto.  In 2011, it enacted the Toronto Transit Commission Labour Disputes Resolution Act, which prohibits all strikes and lockouts and refers any bargaining dispute to interest arbitration.  A lockout of transit workers could not occur in Toronto.  In May of this year, the unions representing TTC workers and the TTC reached a bargained collective agreement without having to use that arbitration process.
Issues for Discussion
In recent years, there have been transit work stoppages in Ottawa and York Region that the government allowed to drag on for extended periods of time.   Presumably, the Liberals similarly will not intervene in the Guelph lockout.  
Do you think it makes sense that public transit is only treated as ‘essential’ in Toronto and not elsewhere in Ontario?  Should Toronto have its own special system of transit labour relations?
In international labour law, developed by the International Labour Organization, transit is not an ‘essential service’ and Ontario is in violation of its legal ILO obligations by forcing all bargaining disputes at the TTC to go to arbitration.  Do you think that elected governments should comply with their international law obligations, even if doing so is politically unpopular?
 

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David Doorey

Professor Doorey is an Associate Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University. He is Academic Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s executive LLM Program in Labour and Employment Law and a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. Professor Doorey is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B., Ph.D), London School of Economics (LLM Labour Law), and the University of Toronto (B.A., M.I.R.).

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David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to Follow

Law Prof. Talking #labor & #employment #law to the masses. @YorkUniversity @OsgoodeNews @LSELaw @CLJEHarvard @Jacobin @OnLaborBlog https://t.co/5V9r8VPHsh

TheLawofWork
thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
10h

I can’t believe that Almost Famous came out 23 years ago.

Time is flying by.

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thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
11h

I had an LLM student who had a part-time job phantom writing labor arbitration decisions based on arbitrator’s notes and instructions.

Like law clerks do for judges (except parties don’t know about the phantom arb writer).

Is using a machine different? Interesting debate.

Valerio De Stefano @valeriodeste

The crucial part starts on p. 5, where the Court reports the answers to the legal questions they posed to ChatGPT. Then, at the end of p. 6, the Court adopts the arguments given in these answers as grounds for its decision.

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thelawofwork David J. Doorey🇨🇦 @TheLawofWork@mas.to @thelawofwork ·
12h

Quebec passed anti-scab legislation in 1977, BC in 1993, & Ontario 1993-95.

Hysterical claims that these laws cause job losses & loss of investment aren't supported by evidence. Businesses just don't like them.

Short 🧵

1/

Seamus O'Regan Jr @SeamusORegan

We’re banning replacement workers, as we said on Oct. 19th.

We’re working with unions and employers to get the balance right.

As agreed, government will introduce legislation by the end of this year.

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