Reference no: EM132784140
Wally's Water Park ("Wally's") is a year-round, themed water park. It employs approximately 150 employees.
On a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon, six workers of Wally's Water Park met for a BBQ. In the course of their conversation they collectively decided that they were being treated unfairly at work and something had to be done.
For example, while working as water park attendants the six workers discovered that there was a large disparity in the employees' wages. It seemed that the boss's favourite water park attendants were paid much higher, regardless of their seniority (start) date with the company. It was also discovered that the boss was giving all of the overtime shifts to his favourite water part attendants.
Wally's Water Park also had a written policy that stated that all employees must arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled shift, however, the employees were not paid for these extra 30 minutes. Those employees who refused to arrive 30 minutes prior to their shift were notified that they were not flexible enough. They would then be scheduled for the less than desirable shifts.
The health & safety program at Wally's Water Park was also very inadequate. For example, on many days, especially during the heat of the summer, employees would be required to work outside for long periods of time without any relief from the heat or water to hydrate. There was also no Joint Health & Safety Committee and when employees noted hazards they were told that it was none of their concern and to just do their job. Routinely, employees worked well over 5 hours without a 30 minute break.
On top of all of this, Wally's Water Park also offered no employee benefits other than those mandated by the law.
Eventually the situation became too much. The issues of favouritism and the inequity in pay created discontent and the employees were tired of the unfair treatment and lack of proper health & safety. Therefore, at the BBQ the six employees decided to seek the help of a union organizer. They called the offices of the Canadian Union of Themed Park Workers and arranged to meet with a union official to discuss their concerns.
After the meeting, a committee of Wally's employees was formed. The committee had to meet with all of the employees secretly and outside of work hours to ask them to sign union cards. Many employees, while unhappy with the situation at Wally's, were afraid to sign up. However, the organizing drive was successful and 85 out of 150 employees signed indicating that they wanted a union to represent them.
The union made an application to the Ontario Labour Relations Board ("OLRB") for certification as the rightful bargaining agent for all non-management employees of Wally's Water Park.
The management of Wally's Water Park was not happy. It tried to correct some of the complaints and even increased the wages of all the employees, but the damage was done. The OLRB received the application from the union and issued a vote order to occur at the workplace. The employees voted and when the ballots were counted 80% of the employees voted to join the union. The Canadian Union of Themed Park Workers was certified and became the rightful bargaining agent representing the employees of Wally's Water Park.
Questions
- List five complaints of the water park attendants at Wally's Water Park.
- List some of the ways in which a union could help the employees of Wally's Water Park.
- Which employees do you think would not want to have a union? Explain your answer.
- Why was the management at Wally's unhappy about the union applying for certification? What did they try to do?