The complainants, two school board maintenance employees, were discharged after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana, which they had stored in a school.
They alleged that their union breached its duty of fair representation under section 68 of the Labour Relations Act by failing to advise them of the five-day time limit for filing grievances and by ultimately deciding not to take their grievances to arbitration.
The Board dismissed the complaint, finding that the union's decision not to arbitrate was based on a reasonable consideration of relevant factors, including the seriousness of the offence, the likelihood of success, and the impact on the bargaining relationship.
The Board also held that the union did not act arbitrarily by failing to proactively advise the complainants of their grievance rights when the complainants had not sought the union's assistance.
