Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 58
1 A. Exactly.
2
3 Q. Did the Labour Board rule in favour of Mr. Canter and his
4 colleagues on this question of whether or not they were to
5 be regarded as a union?
6 A. Yes, they did. They ruled in favour that they could be
7 put on the ballot as a union.
8
9 Q. So that is what this sentence is a reference to, is it?
10 A. I think so.
11
12 Q. "Then", says Mr. Canter, "they", that is McDonald's,
13 "wanted to wear down the enthusiasm of the union
14 supporters and find out who the ring leaders were". Does
15 that ring any bells with you, Mr. Stein?
16 A. No, it does not.
17
18 Q. "The readers should know", says Mr. Canter, "that nearly
19 all of the employees were young, 16 to 19". Do you think
20 that is right?
21 A. Not nearly all. My recollection of the employees in
22 those three stores, about half and half. Half -- similar
23 to the overall statistics -- half were 19 or below and the
24 other half would be above 19.
25
26 Q. Then he adds (which may or may not be gratuitous, I will
27 ask you in a moment) words "Black people". Do you see
28 that? "16 to 19 year old black people"?
29 A. OK. Yes, I see the words.
30
31 Q. Then he says: "Some were from strong union households,
32 often the children of auto workers, while others were quite
33 poor and relied upon the wages earned at McDonald's,
34 however meagre, to supplement family income." If that
35 passage be apt to suggest, Mr. Stein (and it will be a
36 matter for his Lordship in the end if Mr. Canter does not
37 attend court here), that Ralph Kelly in collusion with
38 McDonald's deliberately set out to exploit young black
39 people from poor homes, what comment do you have?
40 A. That is totally incorrect.
41
42 Q. He goes on: "McDonald's strategy against the union had two
43 basic prongs". Did McDonald's have a strategy against the
44 union, Mr. Stein?
45 A. No, it did not.
46
47 Q. "The first prong: Identify and isolate the 'trouble
48 makers'". Were you conscious of any trouble makers,
49 Mr. Stein?
50 A. No. My recollection is that all the employees were
51 pretty well behaved. This was not, you know, a violent or
52 difficult situation.
53
54 Q. No, I think to be fair to Mr. Canter, he qualifies it,
55 I should have read on: "The trouble makers" is in quotes,
56 he goes on, "who were leading the union drive". In other
57 words, I think one can assume he means making trouble by
58 leading the union drive. Were you conscious of any people
59 who were singled out as being, what shall we say,
60 troublesome because they were leading the union drive?
