While we always hope that such contentious situations will not occur within our organization, APS has defended and accompanied hundreds of employees in their litigation whether through arbitration, mediation, or other legal procedures. Below is the story of Brenda Levy, who has been helped by APS over the last seven years.
One year before her termination, Ms. Levy worked as a Unit Manager for the Parliament Hill news bureau in Ottawa. At the time, she had been serving the organization for 33 years. A new management position created to oversee all administrators in the section was assigned to a less experienced employee. Ms. Levy protested vigorously in a letter to her boss. From that moment, she was gradually stripped of her responsibilities until she was finally informed, one year later, that her position had been abolished.
Following this announcement, a petition was sent to management denouncing the situation. Co-workers and other CBC colleagues were outraged by the move and swiftly presented a petition for her reinstatement. Peter Mansbridge, who anchored CBC’s The National newscast at the time along with other CBC employees wrote to Senior Management including the then President Hubert Lacroix to reinstate Brenda in her position that had now spanned 33 years. APS filed a grievance on Ms. Levy’s behalf to have her reinstated to her position.
For seven years, APS has supported Ms. Levy through an interminable and arduous process: arbitration and also attempts at mediation were met with ferocious opposition; beginning with an effort to have her relinquish payments made to her for the abolition of her position.
After many sessions of hearings spread over years, the arbitrator finally ruled in favour of the plaintiff, who had contended from the start that her termination was a vengeful act and constituted a firing in disguise. The decision is unequivocal, given the lack of evidence to justify the abolition of the position, and includes full compensation to the plaintiff.
The employer once again challenged the ruling. A new round of legal proceedings began in early September 2020 in Ontario Superior Court. Despite representations made by the APS to senior Corporation management, CBC/Radio-Canada chose to continue the judicial saga. This obstinacy has incurred enormous expense, both for management and for the Association, nevertheless APS will be there to support its members to the end. We will continue to keep you informed on any future developments through our renewed website.
The conclusion of the battle: https://www.apscbcsrc.org/en/top-stories/a-thank-you-message-from-brenda-levy-to-all-aps-members/