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November 15, 2002

Charges dropped against officers at Millbrook

It’s a Halloween that Tim Hannah and Pete Wright won’t soon forget.

On October 31, the Crown Attorney in Peterborough court withdrew assault charges that were laid against the two officers during the OPS strike. For Hannah and Wright, it’s the end of a chapter that began on March 19.

That was that day that Hannah, president of Local 341 and Wright, chief steward for the local were conducting a site inspection of the facility as ordered by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. It was during that inspection that the two union executive members were accused of assaulting correctional manager Bill Grant. After leaving the jail, both were picked up and charged by Peterborough OPP. And just to add insult to injury, both members were subsequently fired.

Despite the employer’s tactics, Hannah and Wright continued to lead the members on the Local 341 strike line.

“The employer painted an orange line across the driveway to mark the boundary we couldn’t cross,” Hannah said. “It was amusing in a pathetic sort of way.”

Both Hannah and Wright were reinstated after the strike ended, but the assault charges remained to be dealt with. The case was set for pre-trial hearing, but the Crown withdrew the charges because “there was no reasonable prospect for a conviction.”

“It has been a worrisome nine months,” Wright said. “We were confident that the charges would be withdrawn, but there is still a lot of stress dealing with an issue like this.”

The Corrections Division salutes these two officers who refused to let adversity prevail. Management at Millbrook took their best shot at undermining the leadership of Local 341 during the OPS strike, but it has now been proven who are the better men. It is unfortunate, though, that it took nine months to resolve an issue that could have had very serious implications.

Congratulations, brothers.

Corrections begins internal mediation program

Today, Correctional Services and OPSEU introduce the latest initiative of the Systemic Change Program. This initiative offers correctional services staff an innovative way of resolving workplace conflicts through Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR.

Today, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security will issue an edition of Straight Talk outlining the process that will seek to resolve issues quickly and effectively, using methods other than the traditional grievance or investigation route.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this initiative to our members,” said Barry Scanlon, chair of the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee. “It has our 100 per cent support.”

To find out more information about the mediation process, watch for today’s issue of Straight Talk or visit the correctional services intranet site at:

http://intra.mcs.gov.on.ca
 

For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) at 1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888.

e-mail: dford@opseu.org

Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org

Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.

Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 100 Lesmill Rd. Toronto, ON M3B 3P8  (416) 443-8888  www.opseu.org