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SOME members of CUPE local 500 are slamming the union's leadership for not acting swiftly to deal with the conduct of a union representative who was the subject of a recent internal investigation.

Documents obtained by the Free Press detail five separate complaints -- ranging from allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and harassment -- have been leveled against the member.

The complaints date back to December 2005.

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In the article, several facts stand out. Complaints were made and investigated. Conclusions were drawn and reported. The report was published two weeks ago and it will be considered at a meeting next Monday. Provided the process was fair (and there is no reason not to assume it was), all of this suggests the issues were dealt with thoroughly. Now, the conclusions will be dealt with expeditiously. A bit better then two weeks is not a long time given the implications.

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The report was published two weeks ago and it will be considered at a meeting next Monday.

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Sallie Caufield, the union's secretary -- and a member of the local's executive -- said she's upset the executive isn't meeting sooner to deal with the matter.

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Two weeks in the summer with a Stat holiday in between is far from unreasonable.

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2) During contract negotiations with the city in 2006, the member made "racist remarks about the ethnic background of the city's negotiator."

FINDING: Based on evidence provided by witnesses, and by the remorseful admission of the member in question, the union's investigator found his behaviour to be "completely unacceptable ... a form of discrimination and harassment."

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There is no room in my mind for rascist and sexist behaviour.

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I absolutely agree. This is especially concerning in that it is coming from an elected rep who is directly responsible for the overall well-being of the membership.

Having said that, however, despite the article's sensationalism, it can't be clearer that the CUPE local has a very open and transparent democratic process.

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She's on the Executive and would have been in a position to make that point on Monday. Two weeks in the summer with a Stat holiday in between is far from unreasonable.

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Again I fully agree. An investigation in response to the complaints was made in a timely manner, and the executive will obviously be dealing with it in a similar level-headed way.

This is democracy in action--something that is almost totally non-existent in fraudulent rackets like CLAC and other fake "unions" that the initiator of this thread likes to promote.

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Sounds to me like Caulfield simply has a vested interest. If she was the one who went to the press, then she acted inappropriately.

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I get this impression as well. To be fair, however, she may actually honestly feel the executive is moving too slowly. On the other hand, she may also have a particular axe to grind with either the person in question or someone else on the executive.

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Originally posted by munroe:
I think you're missing the point.

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No one is missing your point. CUPE_Reformer makes it her/his business to post examples of union "wrongdoing" - real or imagined - generally without comment. Then, posters start speculating on situations based on incomplete information, and big debates start in which CUPE_Reformer refrains from comment. Get the picture?

[ 06 July 2007: Message edited by: unionist ]