- June 10, 2021
- Duty of Fair Representation
First of two decisions. Duty of fair representation complaint by make-up artist (Davidson) who alleged that the local misrepresented the terms of her membership when she joined and that it treated her in an unfair, arbitrary and discriminatory manner. Davidson filed her complaint 2 ½ years late but argued that this was excusable because she had been pursuing the Union’s internal remedies, waiting to see if new leadership in the local would bring about a resolution to her problem, and could not afford a lawyer. The Board rejected all of Davidson’s argument regarding the delay and dismissed the complaint as untimely. With respect to the Union’s internal remedies, these had been exhausted long before Davidson filed her complaint. Waiting for new leadership was not a compelling reason to delay filing a complaint, nor was being unable to afford a lawyer since there is no requirement to be represented by counsel and there are no fees involved in filing a duty of fair representation complaint.