Folks who like to bash unions and misrepresent how they work are having a field day over a letter of complaint written in respect of a teacher who crossed a picket line in Sooke. Columnists in the Asper Empire, including Jon Ferry in Sunday's Province, are characterizing the line crosser as standing up to those who "bully innocent, law-abiding individuals".

It is true that someone who crosses her colleague's picket line is bound to suffer a lot of peer pressure, but one has to wonder why the line crosser would file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal before the internal process was complete within her union. Could it be that she worried that a fair and reasonable decision would be rendered, and hence she wouldn't be able to grab headlines with union bashing accusations?

An interpretation bulletin issued by the Labour Relations Board with respect to Section 10 of the Labour Code states "No trade union shall expel, suspend, impose a penalty or special levy on a member or refuse membership to a person if, in so doing, the union is acting in a discriminatory manner. Similarly, a union is prohibited from such actions where a member refuses to participate in an activity prohibited by the Code."

It appears that no application was made to, and certainly no order was granted by the Labour Relations Board with respect to the Sooke Teachers Association honouring the CUPE picket line on April 30th. The line crossing teacher has told the media that she is offended that a member of her union has filed a letter of complaint with her union because she crossed the protest line and was likely the only teacher in her school that day. She took the additional step of filing the Human Rights complaint because of screaming pickets and the complaint filed against her. For the sake of argument, assume that the Labour Relations Board would have ruled by Monday, May 3rd, that picketing was unlawful. If the line crossing teacher had waited before grabbing publicity, what is the likely outcome?

Most unions have provisions in their constitution and by-laws for one member to file a complaint against another. It is not uncommon for complaints to be filed when a member crosses a picket line. There is a big difference between filing a complaint and disciplining a member. Hypothetically, upon a finding of fault by an internal union panel, discipline can range from a letter asking that it not be done again to suspension from the union. Suspension can result in the loss of employment, although such cases can be counted on one hand without using one's thumb. Given the likely finding of the Labour Relations Board with respect to the legality of the protest, the most probable outcome of the letter of complaint against the Sooke line crosser would be a letter requesting that she show some concern for the feelings of her colleagues. In the mind of an anti-union line crosser, the prospect of a slap on the wrist could be the motivating factor in maximizing the media spin against the union before the complaint against her is essentially dismissed.

The Human Rights Tribunal, reorganized by the Campbell government, will now have to deal with a complaint from someone who crossed her colleagues' line. Lawyers will be enriched through the experience, Campbell's restructured human rights legislation may be tested, but nothing fundamental will be tested because the line crossing teacher jumped the gun and filed her complaint before her union's internal complaint process was completed. She has demonstrated the same rush to judgment she alleges is displayed by her workmates. She must have a really great time in her school's staff room.