Quebec labour court ruling against Rosemère's former fire fighters does not mean the end to legal challenges from the Union

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - March 17, 2017) - United Food and Commercial Workers Local 501 (TUAC 501) is disappointed with the ruling delivered on Thursday by the TAT (Tribunal administratif du travail: "labour administrative court"). We remain convinced that the Municipality of Rosemère acted illegally on March 7, 2016, by dismissing its 38 fire fighters for the purpose of an unacceptable attempt at avoiding the obligation to deal with a union. To UFCW Local 501, however, this court decision does not necessarily put an end to its legal procedures, since, in the next several days, the Union will assess all various ways of challenging the ruling that it might consider using.

"At the time that this fire station was shut down, fire fighters had been earnestly looking for a solution and bargaining in good faith for the renewal of their collective agreement, while the Municipality of Rosemère was surreptitiously closing a deal with the Municipality of Blainville that would see the demolition of said fire station and the mass dismissal of all those fire fighters, thus getting around the union contract that bound them with the Town of Rosemère for the purpose of annihilating their union certification. To UFCW Local 501, there is no doubt that the new employer, namely the Town of Blainville, is now bound by the collective agreement of Rosemère's fire fighters," says UFCW Local 501 President Alain Lachaîne.

Rosemère's 38 former fire fighters, who are all members of UFCW Canada Local 501, remain confident that justice will be done in the end. "This is a very disappointing ruling, but we are still confident that we shall win our case, and we are still determined to do it. I should like to praise the courage and solidarity of all Rosemère's former fire fighters, who keep on standing their ground against the Municipality. Losing one's job is always a tragedy, but when this happens to such specialized professionals, it is extremely difficult - if not well nigh impossible - for them to become quickly employed again. Their persistence and resolve have been a strong source of inspiration for our great fraternity. I should also like to thank the citizens of Rosemère, as they have consistently shown us their support for nearly a year. We can tell that they are very attached to their fire fighters and we thank them for this. Finally, I should like to thank our union, namely UFCW Local 501, and our lawyer, Mr. Sylvain Beauchamp, for being steadfast all this time about defending our cause," says Benoit Gauthier, one of Rosemère's former fire fighters and a union steward.

À propos des TUAC 501

Avec ses quelque 18 000 membres répartis dans plus de 410 entreprises, le syndicat des TUAC 501 fait partie du plus important syndicat francophone de l'alimentation et du commerce de tout l'Est du Québec et des Maritimes. Notre organisation élargie compte plus de 55 000 membres au Québec, 250 000 au Canada et au-delà de 1,3 million en Amérique du Nord. Nos membres travaillent dans tous les domaines de l'industrie alimentaire et le commerce, ainsi que dans d'autres domaines tels les emplois de service, de transformation, de fabrication, ainsi que les emplois techniques et professionnels. Pour plus d'information sur les TUAC 501, visitez le www.tuac501.org.