VANCOUVER — Internal problems continue to plague the B.C. Nurses’ Union BCNU and its beleaguered president as an arbitrator has issued a report mostly faulting Gayle Duteil, who was placed on paid leave last fall.
A Labour Relations Board arbitrator had harsh words for Duteil, who was acclaimed for a second, three-year term in last year’s spring election but was placed on leave last fall after about 10 allegations were made by both union members and individuals outside the union. Duteil was diagnosed with breast cancer days after the election, but once she completed her treatment last fall, she was told not to come back because of multiple complaints and investigations.
In an interview Wednesday, she said as far as those complaints go, she expects to be exonerated after mediators Vince Ready and Judy Korbin wrap up their investigation into the “untrue allegations”.
“I plan to be back in time to start bargaining on behalf of nurses this spring [the current contract expires in 2019],” Duteil said.
Meanwhile, the recent decision by arbitrator Tom Hodges in the election debacle provides insights into the turmoil within the massive, influential union that has over 47,000 members.
Hodges was appointed to mediate among three parties — a trio of candidates who ran for top positions during last year’s election, the BCNU, and the union’s nominating committee.
A few weeks before balloting was to end, the three candidates were removed by the union’s nomination committee because of what the committee called a defamatory disinformation campaign meant to smear incumbents over the use of union funds, among other things.
While Hodges assessed a $15,000 fine against Will Offley for defaming the union during his short-lived campaign to be president, it was the union that was assessed most of the costs — $75,000 to be used against legal fees of Offley and the other would-be candidates.
Duteil had threatened to sue the nominations committee if it didn’t stop Offley and others from attacking her reputation during the campaign process. Her aggressive stance and interactions with the nominations committee “amounted to a flagrant attempt to threaten, interfere with and manipulate the committee’s processes,” Hodges said.
As the incumbent president, Duteil “should have known better and conducted herself with a standard of care equivalent to her experience and stature within the BCNU.
“It is my hope that this award will send a message to dissuade those who would attempt to improperly use their power and influence to impact the decisions of a neutral body responsible for governing elections,” Hodges said. He ruled that BCNU’s nomination committee acted in a fair and reasonable manner when it removed Offley, Sharon Sharp and Mary Jean Lyth from the ballot before the election.
Hodge said the removal of the applicants from the ballot “was not arbitrary, discriminatory and/or in bad faith.” The nominations committee gave the applicants multiple opportunities to correct false or misleading allegations made about other candidates and the union, he noted.
Duteil said she finds the decision by Hodges upsetting and surprising, especially because he pointed so much criticism at her and she wasn’t supposed to be a party to the case.
“I did not testify or attend the arbitration. I wasn’t consulted. But I end up being slammed in the decision. This isn’t exactly natural justice, is it?” she said, adding that no one from the provincial nominations committee made any complaint about her actions.
She is particularly bitter about the fact that Hodges assessed costs against the union to go toward the legal fees of Offley and two other candidates. “The decision to go to arbitration was made by the BCNU without my participation or consent. The agreement was reached and signed by the BCNU, before anyone sought my opinion,” she said, adding that she has filed an appeal of the decision.
Umar Sheikh, CEO and executive director of the union, bemoans the fact that legal battles have consumed so much time and money.
“This case [the Hodges mediation matter] alone has probably cost the union north of $500,000 in legal fees, not including the $75,000 in costs the union was ordered to pay,” he said. “Is it a huge waste of members’ dues? Yes, it’s a huge waste. All of this never should have happened.”
In the meantime, Christine Sorensen is acting president and apparently not drawing any controversy.
Sheikh said since the union can reopen negotiations April 1 for a new contract with employers, union leaders are anxious to “move forward, work on building good partnerships with health employers, and on important issues like workplace security.”
The labour relations board matters are only a few of the internal conflicts in which the BCNU has been embroiled in the past few years. In 2016, 150 of its office workers who were represented by other unions went on a bitter strike for about half a year. Then the former executive director was accused of unacceptable remarks that led to his departure after 12 years with the BCNU.
