Employees of Thessalon First Nation (TFN) are applying to join the United Steelworkers, an action some allege is born of the poor treatment they’ve received from the current administration.
While the deal to unionize has not been finalized, United Steelworkers co-ordinator Darlene Jalbert told The Sault Star this agreement would be the first of its kind in Canada and the United States if certified.
While the United Steelworkers union already has plenty of Indigenous members in its ranks, the group has never penned an agreement with employees actively working for a First Nation.
“The employees were very, very happy and excited to become unionized, as are we,” Jalbert said during a phone interview.
“This is, I believe, our first certification of this type. So, it’s not just about what we can bring to them. It’s what they can bring to our union.”
This unionization deal involves, according to Jalbert, around 40 TFN employees who work for the community’s library, health centre, band office and public works department.
The Star reached out to multiple TFN employees to inquire about why they decided to take such an unprecedented step.
Four different employees, who all wish to remain anonymous, said it is about the new administration that came to power following last November’s chief and council election.
Once this group took over, these staff members allege the new administration cultivated a hostile work environment where everyone’s job security is constantly at risk.
Because of the new status quo, around 25 staff have either been fired, resigned or are off on medical leave, according to the employees.
“It’s so toxic and I think a lot of people are leaving for their own mental reasons,” said one TFN employee.
This management style allegedly extends to staff members’ online presence, where any social media interactions perceived as “negative” toward TFN results in punitive actions.
A second TFN employee told The Star they were recently blocked from accessing the First Nation’s official Facebook page after they reacted to a Facebook post that was critical of the new TFN leadership.
“I don’t even know what’s being posted and that is (partly) my job,” they said. “So it’s hard for me to even help out others now.”
Outside of allegedly creating a hostile work environment, these employees also claim that the TFN leadership has modified long-standing policies from the previous administration.
Employees say these changes include taking away the staff’s retirement severance pay and cancelling their ability to transfer sick days from one year to the next.
The retirement provisions previously granted employees who worked for TFN for 15-19 years to receive six months of wages upon retirement, while those who have been working for 20 years and up would have received 12 months of wages.
Chief and council’s justification for discontinuing retirement severance pay and transferable sick days was about saving money, according to the employees.
However, the staff who talked to The Star view this as another overreaching power play, which is why joining the United Steelworkers is seen as a necessity for them.
“With everything that’s happened in Thessalon, this is the only way we can see moving forward to protect ourselves and get some kind of job security,” a third anonymous employee said.
“We know here, internally, we’re not protected in any way.”
The Star reached out to Chief Joseph Wabigwan to comment on his staff’s accusations, but he did not immediately respond.
TFN executive director Lesley Boulrice declined to comment.
This unionization effort is not the first bit of tension that’s been brewing between TFN’s new administration and its staff.
Chief and council is currently being sued for $850,000 by its former director of operations, Mary Jane Wardell, who claims she was unjustly terminated immediately following last November’s election.
When reached for comment last month, Wabigwan told The Star via email that “Thessalon First Nation disputes her claim but does not comment on matters that are before the courts.”
TFN health centre staff, in general, are working under challenging conditions now that Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services decided to pull all its health-care workers out of the community in April.
This decision was made after Maamwesying officials circulated letters to TFN residents, accusing a community nurse, who is a band employee, of accessing the medical records of residents without their consent.
TFN leadership responded through an April 5 Facebook post, stating these mass privacy breach allegations “have not been proven.”
A fourth anonymous employee said that while the deteriorating relationship between TFN staff and leadership has been trying, they expect things to improve when the staff officially joins the United Steelworkers.
“We just need to hang on a little bit longer,” they said. “Once the union is in, I think that people will be able to breathe and won’t have to worry about political interference, so that they can actually just do their job.”
Currently, the TFN employees’ unionization efforts are being reviewed by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, with the United Steelworkers having filed for certification on Feb. 7.
While Jalbert said this process is taking significantly longer than expected, she is certain the deal will go through, which will allow both parties to finalize finer details, such as which United Steelworkers branch the TFN employees will join.
“So, there’s no doubt that we will be certified,” she said. “It’s just a matter of when.”
Meanwhile, the third anonymous TFN employee is excited about what this unprecedented agreement with the United Steelworkers could mean for other First Nations workers moving forward.
“I think it’s going to have an impact in the area and hopefully it shows that those other First Nations (workers) have this opportunity to support themselves and protect themselves,” they said.
The United Steelworkers, according to the group’s official website, is the largest private-sector union in North America, with more than 225,000 members in Canada alone.
Written by Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Sault Star
