Day 189 - 20 Nov 95 - Page 26
1
2 Q. Did you approach the management and tell them you were
3 union members or -----
4 A. No, we did not. We kept it low key, because we felt --
5 well, certainly, the history of the McDonald's, they were
6 not pro-union; and that was the feeling, and we thought
7 that, well, maybe we would be fired or whatever if we got
8 in it.
9
10 Q. So you kept things to yourself?
11 A. Well, we kept it very low key, yes. We talked to some
12 people who wanted to join, and stuff like that. But we did
13 not put up any -- you know, you could not put up any signs,
14 or anything like that. I think that is against Company
15 policy as well. You cannot actively recruit for trade
16 unions, as far as I know, in McDonald's.
17
18 Q. Of these 20 or so people who they say in their memo, and
19 you agreed with, something like that, possibly
20 involved -----
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you asked -- I may have missed it.
23 I know Mr. Mrozek has said about eight of them had joined
24 the union before the strike, and then more joined after the
25 strike.
26
27 THE WITNESS: Yes, after the dispute.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have you actually asked him how many at
30 O'Connell Street he thought were members of the union --
31 because this is just Mr. Coughlin's opinion as conveyed to
32 Mr. Mehigan.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: Yes. (To the witness): How many people actually
35 joined the dispute from the O'Connell Street branch?
36 A. I would say there were -- in terms of figures, I am
37 not too sure -- about two-thirds, I would say, of the
38 permanent staff.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: This is at O'Connell Street?
41 A. Yes, but that is of the permanent staff.
42
43 Q. When you say "permanent", you mean full-time?
44 A. Yes, full-time. Sorry. The part-time workers, there
45 were so many of them, and they were students mainly.
46
47 Q. They joined the union?
48 A. Not so much the students. They just wandered off when
49 the dispute started. A lot of people left from the
50 dispute.
51
52 Q. The two-thirds, though, what does that -----
53 A. They would have been full-time workers.
54
55 Q. What are you saying about them: that they joined the union
56 or joined the action?
57 A. They joined the union.
58
59 MR. MORRIS: Some of them joined before and some joined ---
60 A. No, it would have been two-thirds all together,
