Labour board strikes down Coquitlam, B.C., waste company's attempt to stop employees from unionizing

A Coquitlam, B.C., waste company has lost an appeal to prevent employees from unionizing.

Employees at Waste Control Services Inc. were certified as a union by the Labour Relations Board of B.C. after the company fired one of its workers involved in a union drive in January. 

The certification was granted as a remedy for "unfair labour practices" by the company. The company's application to have the certification reconsidered was dismissed by the labour board earlier this month.

According to details from three labour board decisions, the company fired a driver named Derek Anderson in January after he signed a union card and began talking to other employees about unionizing. 

In a January decision, the board ordered that Anderson be reinstated and compensated for any lost wages and benefits.

"I infer from the absence of proper cause and the employer's knowledge and belief that the dismissed employee supported and was promoting the union that the termination was, at least in part, for anti-union reasons," reads the decision.

Labour board rules against company three times

The waste company wound up in front of the labour board again in August when the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) alleged that after Anderson was reinstated, the company engaged in "a concerted anti-union campaign" against union organizers. The employees at Waste Control Services were attempting to certify as union members with IUOE Local 115.

According to the union, the anti-union campaign involved "statements, enquiries and threats" made by Waste Control Services owner and founder, Allan Dasanjh, including an "angry confrontation with union organizers on March 8, 2022."

It also claimed Dasanjh shunned employees who supported the union.

In the August decision, a labour board panel member granted all employees at Waste Control Services, except office and sales staff, remedial certification with the union.

"A different remedy was already tried with this employer. It does not get a second bite of the apple ... I have no confidence that this employer would not continue its assault on the employees' right to exercise their rights under the [Labour] Code," reads the decision. 

The company went before a labour board panel a third time in an appeal for reconsideration of the union certification, but the original decision was upheld by a panel last week.

Waste Control Services, which provides services to most municipalities across Metro Vancouver, employs approximately 100 people.