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I am a partial load faculty at a College in Ontario I have had continuous employment (3 semesters per year) and my union has failed to negotiate severance for an entire class of employees . . . 50 years and still no semblance of job security or seniority. How can I work almost 2 decades and be left with no notice or severance. Can we bring a class action against our union for not representing our interests fairly? I feel like I was hit by a brick, my job has not disappeared with these cuts they are just finding a way to do it cheaper. It does not appear to be in good faith or in the best interest of education when they take qualified and excellent faculty out of their positions in favour of lesser qualified individuals. It's unconscionable that a whole class of employees have no voice.
Unions have a duty of fair representation, and when a union fails at this duty, it is possible to bring a claim alleging the union has breached the duty of fair representation. However, the bar of proving a breach of the duty is extremely high, as the courts often afford extreme deference to union decisions.