Buckley v. Local 891 [2003] B.C.L.R.B.D. No. 235 (BC Labour Relations Board)

First of two decisions.  Duty of fair representation complaint by permittee (Buckley) alleging that the local’s membership requirements and dispatch system were inequitable and discriminatory.  The Board dismissed Buckley’s complaint as being without merit.  Persons awaiting dispatch under a union hiring hall provision in a collective agreement are not employees for the purpose of the duty of fair representation.  The Board’s role is not to supervise the internal affairs of unions except where the actions of a union while representing a member vis a vis an employer violate the Code.  A Union is responsible for its own rules, including how individuals attain membership.  It is the Union’s members that have the ability to make or change rules regarding attainment of Union membership. 

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