Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 32


     
     1        improvements in conditions, all the franchises were sold to
     2        a new franchiser who was hostile to the union.  A nine
     3        month strike then followed.  McDonald's then closed all the
     4        stores and pulled out of the island".  If you want me to
     5        read it again, I will.
     6        A.  No.
     7
     8   Q.   Does that sound like an accurate account of what actually
     9        happened?
    10        A.  No, I think it requires some more facts.
    11
    12   Q.   Right.  Can you give us because now you have come
    13        along  -----
    14        A.  Yes, I have
    15
    16   Q.   Did you go to Puerto Rico, I think you told us earlier,
    17        this was one of your flying visits?
    18        A.  Yes, it was.
    19
    20   Q.   Tell us what the actual facts were?
    21        A.  OK.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Could I just ask, when you talked about the
    24        flying squad and there were these teams, not just in Human
    25        Resources, but in other departments of the Company, was it
    26        always a team who went or might it just be one individual?
    27        A.  Often times it was one individual.
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  What about this case, did you have any backup or
    30        did you go by yourself?
    31        A.  There was a second person with me.  The person was
    32        someone who had once worked in Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rico,
    33        frankly, is a territory of the US, but it is significantly
    34        different with different culture in many respects, and
    35        I took with me someone who, frankly, had worked there and
    36        knew the people, knew some of the people, so that I was not
    37        going into something without someone helping me understand
    38        the culture and what was happening.
    39
    40   Q.   Perhaps it may be important, perhaps it may not, is Puerto
    41        Rico subject to US federal law?
    42        A.  Yes, it is.  The National Labour Relations Act applies
    43        to Puerto Rico.
    44
    45   Q.   I was going to ask you about whether the rules about NLRB
    46        elections and so on apply in Puerto Rico as well?
    47        A.  Yes, there is an NLRB office right in Puerto Rico.  If
    48        you will, I think you are asking me to relate what the
    49        facts were and what ------
    50 
    51   Q.   Yes.  I think in order to speed things along I will, 
    52        perhaps, break it up a bit. 
    53        A.  OK.
    54
    55   Q.   When you got to Puerto Rico or when you got involved, was
    56        Mr. Gibson's collective agreement with the Gastronomical
    57        Workers Union still in existence?
    58        A.  I believe it had been terminated at that point.  I know
    59        it had been terminated.  Miller had withdrawn recognition
    60        from the union.  There was a strike and picketing underway

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