Ontario Labour Relations Board
1865-99-U David E. Winkenweder, Applicant v. Power Workers’ Union, CUPE 1000, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Anthony Brown, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; March 2, 2000
This is an application pursuant to section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the "Act") alleging violation of section 74. In essence, the applicant alleges that the responding party contravened the Act by settling his grievance for an amount of money that is considerably less than the amount to which the applicant believes he is entitled.
The applicant wrote to the Board by letter dated December 2, 1999 seeking “clarification of the interpretation of the written minutes of settlement between Ontario Hydro and the Power Workers Union made on my behalf”.
The responding party submits that the application should be dismissed without a hearing or consultation, as not disclosing a prima facie case. It notes that the existing case law is clear that a union has discretion about how to handle a grievance, including whether to settle or withdraw a grievance before proceeding to arbitration. The union further notes that a grievance similar to the applicant’s grievance was taken to arbitration by the responding party and was lost.
The Board advises the applicant that its function is not to provide “clarifications” of the nature that he requests in his letter. The Board’s jurisdiction in this matter is to determine whether or not the responding party has violated section 74 of the Act. At the consultation, the Board does not decide whether the grievance has merit.
At this juncture, the Board is not prepared to dismiss the application on a prima facie basis. The Registrar is directed to schedule the matter for a consultation.
“Anthony Brown”
for the Board