000822 Montreal McDonald's Employees Attempt to Unionize

Montreal - Another attempt is being made to unionize a Quebec franchise of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd., an affiliate of McDonald's Corp.

The Confederation of National Trade Unions has filed a request for certification with the Quebec Labour Department to represent about 40 workers at a McDonald's franchise on Peel Street in downtown Montreal.

In 1998, the Quebec Federation of Labour and its affiliated Teamsters union failed to unionize two McDonald's outlets in the Montreal area.

“It's not going to be an easy one, but we are pretty confident this time McDonald's will not want to look like the nasty corporate citizen,” Roger Valois, union vice chairman, said.

He said more than 80 per cent of the restaurant's mainly young staff have signed union cards, seeking better wages and working conditions.

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada said on Friday the situation at the Peel Street restaurant was was specific to that franchise.

“McDonald's and our franchisees remain 100 per cent committed to our people at our more than 225 restaurants in Quebec and we will continue to work with them to help make their jobs the best for each and every employee. The events at one independently owned restaurant in Montreal certainly won't change that,” the company said in a statement.

Michel Marchand, the franchisee who owns the restaurant, was not available for comment.

McDonald's workers in Squamish, B.C., won the right to unionize in 1998, but voted to decertify a year later.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com