- May 25, 2021
- Collective Agreement Interpretation
The arbitrator (MacDowell) dismissed the grievance filed by local 58 on behalf of the Head Technician at the Panasonic Theatre, Wade Sheedy. The grievance dealt with two issues: (i) whether article 6.1 of the collective agreement implicitly required that the Head Technician be present “for all calls”; i.e., whenever any other IATSE member was working at the Theatre; and (ii) in the alternative, whether the Theatre was estopped from changing the practice of having the Head Technician present whenever any other IATSE member was working. In dismissing the grievance, the arbitrator found (i) as a matter of interpretation, article 6.1 does not guarantee or dictate that the Head Technician will be present in the theatre whenever any other IATSE member is working; and (ii) there is no “estoppel “ which prevents the Employer from exercising his rights under article 3 of the collective agreement, to schedule Mr. Sheedy to work, only when the Employer determines that he is needed – provided that the Employer adheres to the requirements of the collective agreement in terms of work and scheduling.