24 June 2003

Nugget's delivery drivers stand firm
in face of legal broadsides

North Bay Newspaper Guild | TNG Canada Local 30241

An employer's fiery legal blasts are failing to melt the icy resolve of North Bay Nugget delivery drivers who signed union cards on a freezing January weekend.

Even though one of its more unusual tactics has backfired, the Osprey Media newspaper continues to wage a costly and, at times, nasty legal fight against the certification application by TNG Canada/CWA.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) is currently taking evidence from employer 'witnesses' and will soon begin accepting submissions from the union. The OLRB is deliberating in the wake of a representational vote it conducted in North Bay in February. The ballots remain sealed.

Meanwhile, the drivers' determination to resist company efforts to turn them into "independent contractors" hasn't waned, reports Dan D. Seguin, president of the North Bay Newspaper Guild.

Seguin and TNG Canada Staff Rep David Wilson conducted the organizing blitz that covered nearly 10,000 square kilometres on a very cold Northern Ontario weekend. They were surprised by the drivers' eagerness to sign.

"In terms of cold-calling successes — pardon the pun — this was an organizer's dream. All we needed was a pen, cards and a dog sled," says a smiling Seguin.

As a result of an OLRB decision on a bizarre legal challenge by the Nugget, TNG Canada/CWA may now organize in Ontario under the national umbrella rather than through its Locals.

The Nugget had challenged TNG to prove it was a union, even though the employer has had two bargaining unit contracts with the North Bay Newspaper Guild since 1988. The Board supported the union after an entire day of deliberations at OLRB offices in Toronto, during which Guild counsel Nelson Roland and Arnold Amber, Director of TNG Canada/CWA, submitted evidence.

"The process has certainly been lengthy and interesting to say the least," says Seguin. "But the application is alive and well before the Board. All I'm prepared to say about this case is that, without a doubt, Nugget drivers are not independent contractors."

And, he adds, "Kudos to the drivers for their resilience and tenacity, and kudos to TNG-CWA's organizing program that unequivocally assists and supports its Locals."