December 3, 2008

CMAW wins another major battle to represent carpenters on Allied Hydro Council projects

The BC Supreme Court has confirmed an earlier Labour Relations Board decision to add CMAW to the Allied Hydro Council representing carpenters working on BC Hydro construction projects. The issue arose when the other unions on the Allied Hydro Council appealed an LRB decision last year which allowed CMAW to join the AHC board.

The Supreme Court today released its reasons for judgment which confirms that CMAW, and not the international brotherhood from Washington, DC, will represent carpenters working on hydro projects in BC. The other unions, led by the UBCJA, argued that the LRB did not have the authority to add CMAW with the AHC's consent; that the decision was contrary to natural justice; and that it was contrary to the Charter or Rights and Freedoms.

In is decision released Dec. 2, Mr. Justice Pearlman said that there were no grounds on which to reverse the decision. In three days of hearings in May and June of this year, 11 lawyers were lined up against CMAW, representing 18 unions and the Allied Hydro Council itself.

We won another big one!