When a group of a hundred-plus disgruntled truckers gathered at a Brampton Sikh temple to talk about their workplace concerns this September, their list of demands was simple: job security, safety and respect.

But when that evolved into exercising their constitutional right to unionize, it swiftly descended into an ugly workplace battle, according to a new complaint made to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

In the filing obtained by the Star, Brampton-based trucking firm Interstate Freight Systems Inc. is alleged to have launched a campaign of intimidation that included threatening and ultimately firing at least 10 union activists.

The claim says the company also tried to offer individual workers “money and other pecuniary rewards” to persuade them not to unionize, and threatened to bankrupt and cause bodily harm to those who persisted.

The company will file its response this week.

In an interview with the Star, company president Paul Bhullar denied all of the allegations. He said he did not oppose his workers unionizing, and that the 10 truckers who left the company in October either departed of their own accord or were fired for threatening fellow colleagues.

The Workers United Canada Council has applied to represent about 180 truckers at the firm’s Brampton and Montreal locations. Tanya Ferguson, the union’s organizing coordinator, says Bhullar’s claim that union supporters threatened other workers was inaccurate and unfounded.

Amarjit Singh Daroch, one of the now-terminated leaders of the organizing drive, said the group’s key demands included that the company provide on-the-job safety training and ensure more job security.

“How are they going to make money if we are depressed, under stress, at risk?” he said.

According to their prospective union, even seasoned truckers at the company have sometimes lost their jobs without warning. Workers also complained of driving long hours and receiving minimal training, posing a risk to themselves and the public.

Although the firm gave workers a raise after they initially brought their concerns forward in September, the truckers claim nothing was done to address other more pressing complaints. That prompted the decision to unionize.

Shortly after, according to the labour board complaint filed on Oct. 27, the firm fired seven workers and demanded that unionization stop in exchange for the men being rehired.

But the workers continued to advocate for a union. By the end of October, every trucker on the 10-member organizing committee had been terminated, their prospective union says.

“We know what the range of intimidation tactics can be, but this was pretty extreme,” said Ferguson. “I would say this is as bad as it gets.”

According to Ferguson, one employee was offered a blank cheque in exchange for withdrawing support for a union, and others were subject to a range of other threats, including seeing their hours reduced and facing legal action.

Bhullar told the Star he did not interfere with the union drive and never offered rewards of any kind to workers to stop unionizing. He added that he had addressed the workers’ main concerns, including by giving them a raise. He said all truckers at his company received safety training and that there were no cases of workers being fired arbitrarily.

“It’s their choice (to unionize),” he said. “Whatever they feel like, they can do it. I never said to one single guy, ‘Don’t be unionized.’”

The federal labour board will first try to mediate the case, but if no resolution is found, the board can either make a ruling or hold a public hearing.

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Workers’ rights advocates say unionization efforts have become increasingly difficult in recent years. Instead of simply signing a union membership card, workers must now also participate in a balloted vote. Critics say that gives employers additional time to target union supporters.

Complicating matters is the fact that Interstate Freight Systems classified all its truckers as independent contractors. They are technically self-employed, a growing trend in the industry. The company says its workers have full control over their own schedules and can choose whether to accept an assignment.

But as independent contractors, workers have no protection under the Canada Labour Code, the legislation regulating interprovincial truckers. The union is contesting the independent contractor classification, saying workers have “no authority over their work lives” at the company.

Daroch, a father of two, said he and his colleagues worked hard for their employer and were simply seeking basic dignity on the job.

“Everybody works first for respect. Money comes after,” he said. “If you don’t see respect in a company, would you work for them?”

Trucking by the numbers

9.1 per cent: Unionization rate for truck drivers in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area;

30.6 per cent: Growth in self-employed truck drivers in the Toronto area over the past 10 years;

22 per cent: Decline in permanent truck driving employees in the Toronto area over the past 10 years;

$18: Median hourly wage for a GTA trucker in 2014.

Source: City of Toronto Industry Profiles

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