All of Lively had signed union cards.
Were you told by a union organizer that all of Lively had signed union cards? They heard that the union was saying this.
6 out of 7 Lively employees never ever signed cards. The one who did, wrote to the Board to complain about the 1 ½ hour surprise home visit starting at 8:30 at night that “overwhelmed” her. If you were told that we all signed, please tell us your story.
You are the last person to sign a union card.
Were you told that you were the last person to sign a union card as a pressure tactic to get you to sign?
You were NOT the last person to sign a card. This is a very common tactic used by union organizers, Lots of employees never signed. Let us know if they told you this.
How did they get my unlisted home number or my cell number?
Was someone taking private, personal information from the Company about Employees and giving it to the Union? Lively employees heard that other employees, with unlisted numbers got calls, so how did the Union get their private information?
We are not too sure how they did this, but maybe union supporters copied lists from somewhere. Let us know what you think or may have heard happened. Union organizers, when confronted, would not answer the question about how they got such private information.
Did the union use harassment or intimidation to get you to sign a card?
The Lively Seven made written complaints about the tactics the union used to get them to sign cards. The CIRB decided that those tactics were not inappropriate; they said The Lively Seven just suffered a “lack of knowledge of the unionization process”.
The Lively Seven still believe that they were targets of harassment intimidation, and pressure. Read their letters and judge for yourself. We would like to hear what you experienced during the union drive.
"Employees who did not agree with the certification process did not sign a union card."
The CIRB said this in their March 29 decision granting certification (at page 9). This means that the random interviews investigation found no problems, but does that mean that every single card was obtained without the use of misinformation, intimidation, threats, or harassment, etc.?
One of The Lively Seven felt pressured into signing a card. All of them complained to the Board about being harassed, lied to, and intimidated. Did you sign your card completely free from such tactics?
If you have changed your mind, you can’t cancel your union card.
Union organizers are not always responsive with employees who want to cancel their cards.
You can cancel your membership card. Canceling your membership card will not change having to pay dues, but it could prevent the union from disciplining or fining you if you don’t toe the Union’s corporate line in the future. Those of us who never joined, or canceled our cards, should be able to join in the future, but there are security clauses that make it almost impossible to cancel your initial card/membership in the future.
Go to the Canadian LabourWatch Association website. They have instructions in English and French on how to cancel a union card in the Federal sector.
2005 National Citizens Coalition