Gateway injunction fails in Canada
The court dismissed an injunction filed by Gateway Casinos against the casinos’ employees union.
Canada.- Gateway Casinos sued the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BGCEU) and the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union Local No. 401 (UFCW) under the claims that they had engaged in unlawful activity at the company’s Lake City casinos. Justice Michael Tammen determined that even if the conduct was in “poor taste, it was not unlawful.”
BGCEU said that the dismissal was a win for all unions in B.C: “That decision is a big win for all unions in B.C.,” said president Stephanie Smith. “On behalf of the almost 700 BCGEU members that have been on strike since June 29 I am urging Gateway to drop the cheap PR tactics and the frivolous legal tactics and get back to the table,” she added.
Justice Michael Tammen said: “It is largely, although perhaps not entirely, the sort of exchange which one might expect on a picket line during a bitter labour dispute.”
Moreover, director of public relations for Gateway Casinos, Tanya Gabara said: “It is unfortunate that we are in the position of needing to bring lawsuits in order to ensure that the union picketers behave lawfully and respect the safety of patrons, the public and employees.”
More than 650 casino workers in Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops and Penticton have been on strike since June 29, and talks have stopped after mediation broke off September 22.
