B. Taylor

The plaintiff successfully obtained an interim injunction against the defendants during a labour strike that was causing significant delays to the plaintiff's operations.

The only remaining issue was the quantum of costs.

The plaintiff sought over $205,000, including significant disbursements for private investigators, while the defendants suggested $15,000.

The court found the plaintiff's claimed costs excessive and punitive, noting the legal and factual issues were straightforward.

The court awarded the plaintiff a total of $37,083.80, which included a significantly reduced allowance for the investigator disbursements and legal fees.

The applicant, an employee in the meat department bargaining unit, applied to terminate the bargaining rights of the respondent union locals representing three bargaining units at a retail food store.

The union argued the supporting employee petitions were invalid for failing to distinguish between the specific locals, and that the applicant lacked standing to apply on behalf of units he was not a member of.

The Board rejected both arguments, finding the employees clearly intended to reject the union generally and had designated the applicant to act on their behalf.

A representation vote was ordered for all three bargaining units.

The applicant union referred a grievance to the Ontario Labour Relations Board under section 124 of the Labour Relations Act, alleging that the respondent employer violated the collective agreement by reclassifying an employee to a lower wage category.

The respondent raised preliminary objections, arguing that the matter was res judicata as two prior Board decisions had already interpreted the identical collective agreement provision to apply only to lay-offs, not reclassifications.

The Board agreed, finding that the prior decisions were binding and that the applicant failed to establish a prima facie case.

The grievance was dismissed.