Vernon truck driver fired for turning safety sensors off gets job back
A veteran Vernon truck driver who was fired for turning off the safety sensors in his new rig has got his job back.
Matt Bramall, along with two colleagues from Penticton, Jamie Stevenson and Joshua Buhnai, all got their jobs back after the BC Labour Relations Board said their employer had fired them because they were organizing to unionize.
The three employees had each worked for Gordon Food Service Canada for two or three decades without any serious issues.
However, just before Christmas 2023, Stevenson and Buhnai were fired for reasons the BC Labour Relations Board said weren't justified. Bramall got fired in the New Year.
"I find that terminating a 20-year employee for the alleged misconduct is excessive in the circumstances," the Board said in a Sept. 25 decision. "(It) supports an inference that the employer was motivated by anti-union animus."
The decision said the three delivery drivers became inside union organizers in the summer of 2023.
"Their organizing activities included speaking to coworkers about unionizing, distributing information and collecting membership cards and submitting them to the Union," the decision read.
The decision said in the spring of 2023 the company moved from standard trucks to brand new automatic models. The new vehicles had an array of safety sensors.
"The safety sensors can detect if a truck is too close to a vehicle in front of it, or if it is drifting out of its lane; if either occurs, the safety sensors will beep, flashlights, or automatically apply the truck’s brakes, depending on the situation," the decision said.
The decision said Bramall had issues with the safety sensors, as the brakes would apply unexpectedly, and the sensor lights would shine in his mirror and make it difficult for him to see.
He complained to management about the new trucks several times and asked to get his old truck back, but was told, "it is what it is."
Sometime during the summer, he unplugged the sensors.
When management found out months later they confronted Bramall who admitted he'd disconnected the sensors.
He said he found them "more dangerous than helpful" and that the "constant bombardment" from the sensors was negatively impacting his mental health.
He was then fired.
Six days before Christmas, Gordon Food Services fired Stevenson because he'd submitted a $250 receipt for work boots he'd purchased using gift cards the company had previously issued.
He testified he didn't think he'd done anything wrong.
Buhnai was fired for the same thing with Gordon Food Services noting his "belligerence" after being told he was under investigation into the matter.
The decision said all the employees had worked for the company for between 20 and 30 years and the Teamers, Local Union No. 31 got involved.
The Union accused the company of anti-union sentiment and that it knew all three men were campaigning for their workplaces to become unionized.
Gordon Food Service denied this saying that just because an employee had been with the company for a long time didn't mean they could "conduct employment offences with impunity."
The company argued disabling the safety sensors was serious misconduct.
However, the Labour Board didn't buy it.
"I find the employer’s approach to the safety sensors investigation lacked the urgency expected of safety violations so serious they would warrant termination," the Board said. "I find the manner in which the employer conducted the safety sensors investigation indicates that the employer did not actually believe Bramall’s misconduct was as grave as they now allege it to be."
The lengthy decision gave a play-by-play account of what took place including other issues between the workers and the company in disagreements over break times.
The BC Labour Relations Board said the company's move to fire all three was "disproportionate" to the misconduct.
"The employer did not have a credible reason free from anti-union motivation to impose the discipline," the BC Labour Relations Board said.
The Board found that the employer's decision to fire them was "at least in part" motivated by anti-union sentiment.
Ultimately, the Labour Board ordered Gordon Food Services to rehire the fired workers and compensate them for missed wages.
The Board also ordered the company to allow the Union to have a meeting with its employees during work time, and without management present.
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