Union claimed reductions to sales commissions violated collective agreement, employment standards
An arbitrator has dismissed a grievance brought by Unifor against the Globe and Mail, ruling that the newspaper’s sales commission plan is not subject to arbitration under the current collective agreement.
The case arose when the union alleged that the Globe and Mail violated both the collective agreement and provincial law by reducing commissions payable to a salesperson, Adam Wilson. The union argued that commissions, like salaries, should be protected under the collective agreement and that the employer’s unilateral reduction was “contrary to the collective agreement and statute; namely the Employment Standards Act (ESA).”
The employer countered that its Brand Partnership Manager Sales Incentive Plan was “totally outside of the collective agreement, and as its application and administration fell entirely within management’s discretion, it was not subject to arbitral review.”
The plan explicitly reserved management’s right to “change any portion of its compensation programs” and to “reduce, modify, or withhold commission payments based upon individual performance or management modification of the Program.”
In his decision, Arbitrator William Kaplan found that the sales commission plan is not mentioned in the collective agreement.
“Salaries, which are bargained, are expressly referred to, but reading in commissions to that term...
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith delivered testimony Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee, defending his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 el...