Peter Tabuns, Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada, is Greenpeace Grinch for Christmas, 2002.
With one year left, Greenpeace Canada broke the Collective Bargaining Agreement of OPEIU 343, which, with only 25 members is one of the tiniest union locals in existence.
The 25 OPEIU members are the total Toronto Greenpeace Door Canvass who have brought in millions of dollars for Greenpeace over the years.
Greenpeace Canada, whose pickets against enemies are hoisted world wide, are themselves facing pickets at their lavish 250 Dundas West Toronto headquarters.
In breaking its union contract, Greenpeace has locked out its unionized door canvass, just before Christmas.
"This is a call for justice in solidarity with the union movement and all social justice movements in general," said an OPEIU 343 press release.
Long considered a media darling, Greenpeace is the world’s largest environmental organization. The silence from the mainline media since the Greenpeace canvass was locked out has been deafening.
"Greenpeace Canada is so management heavy and pays its management exorbitant salaries," OPEIU union steward Gary Connolly told CanadaFreePress. "Greenpeace has become the type of corporation we’re rallying against."
Tabuns, who is in Holland, was not available for comment.
Millions of dollars for Greenpeace have been raked in from public donations over the years, but the public’s love affair with the environmental giant seems to be on the wane. "We have been facing hostility at the doors," Connolly said, adding that some of the hostility has been generated from the "kind of stories written in Toronto Free Press."
Public donors, who think their money is going to environmental causes, he said, would be "disappointed" and "even shocked".
Not only has Greenpeace Canada become "management heavy", with "exorbitant salaries for management", Connolly says much of the money collected door-to-door is going into lengthy court cases.
"They’re paying it out in wrongful dismissal cases that they’re losing in court. They’ve paid out more than $200,000 for these cases in the last five years. That’s where donors' money is going," said Connolly.
Connolly said that Greenpeace Canada is not living up to its commitment to campaigning on environmental issues: "The only campaigns we’ve had here in Toronto over the past few years have been going out to Loblaws outlets against genetically modified foods and hanging banners at the odd Esso outlet."
Universal environmental issues, he said, are run from the Greenpeace Amsterdam office. The union steward said he had heard that Greenpeace Amsterdam was less than pleased with Greenpeace Canada, but was not certain if Amsterdam knows that Toronto has let down on environmental campaigning.
Before Greenpeace hired $60-a-day employees to run the door-to-door canvas, the organization relied on volunteers.
"Volunteers couldn’t stick with it," said Connolly. "Management wants more and more money for themselves and less and less for us."
Management and Greenpeace employees have been at odds for some time. The environmental lobbyist group in downtown Toronto has never been happy to have a union in place,
"Things went from bad to worse with the arrival of Tabuns," said Connolly.
Tabuns, a left-wing Toronto councillor who once called for a ban on Harvey’s Hamburgers because they had donated to the Progressive Conservative Party, is said to have politics in his blood.
"As an executive director for Greenpeace, he’s quite a politician," is how Connolly puts it.
Noting that Greenpeace management had "never accepted the union", he added, "Peter Tabuns has been the worst."
Union members say neither Tabuns nor board chairman John Dohery has responded to any of their concerns since the lock out.
One member claims that Tabuns could only dare to lock out the group at Christmas time "because he’s guaranteed a good job when his long-time buddy Jack Layton wins the New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership."
Connolly said Tabuns knows little about the environment and has only used the Greenpeace job to advance his political career.
"He (Tabuns) has used Greenpeace as a stepping stone in a move none of us want part of."
With people hurting on the street at Christmas, Connolly said Tabuns has displayed a high-handed attitude since the lockout.
"It’s tough to be out on the cold street when you see Tabuns walking along with his smug little smile."
According to an OPEIU 343 press release, "Of 24 employees, 13 with up to eight years seniority, are illegally and unfairly locked out, one of whom is still facing court charges for being arrested on a Greenpeace action.
"In October of 2001, Greenpeace and the canvass ratified a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that expires Dec. 31 2003. The door canvass was closed Oct. 15 2002, despite the fact that the canvass was exceeding all terms of the CBA.
"Starting in early July, management had illegally attempted to renegotiate the contract by threatening to shut down the program while offering new numbers or terms that if attained might be acceptable to management and prevent a shutdown."
OPEIU 343 members say that Tabuns tried to enlist the support of outside labour organizations for Greenpeace’s position. "Tabuns’ requests included asking a labour organization to advise the union to refrain from their democratic right of peaceful protest. These organizations have since denied his requests."
"Greenpeace Canada has a poor labour record," says the press release. "This situation further damages their reputation." "Peter Tabuns expects governments to honour environmental treaties that they have ratified. "We expect Greenpeace to honour this labour treaty that they have ratified."
Meanwhile, Toronto Greenpeace management may be hoping for more donations from the slicker Caring Together, whose members have replaced the locked out Greenpeace canvass--despite protection for their rights to canvas protected in the CBA until Dec. 31, 2003.
When members of Caring Together arrive at the doors of the public, they are not so Greenpeace obvious. They offer members of the public at large a choice from a list of five or six charities.
(See Judi McLeod column, Editor’s Desk)
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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