non competes are an easy topic to search.. google will take you to many lawyer's pages discussing the topic.. canlii.. and the rulings on the subject.
Amazon ceasing operations in Quebec
- Thread starter Relax
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non competes are an easy topic to search.. google will take you to many lawyer's pages discussing the topic.. canlii.. and the rulings on the subject.
Except it didn’t cost me a cent. Quite a few workers are in a situation where their salary disqualifies them from legal aid. The options are:
1. Take a gamble and perhaps even go broke if you win
2. Suck it up because the company has deeper pockets than you and can bury you in fees.
Don't forget option 3, Google it and hope that the advice that GobKnobbler98869 on Reddit posted in 2018 is not only correct, but still valid even if it was correct.
Lawyers hate this one simple trick!
Lawyers give you a 15 minute call for free. That has been enough for me when I needed questions answered competently. Cost me zero, gave me what I needed to choose a path. If the company is going to double down on their illegal action, I don't want to work there.
Not all lawyers offer freebies like this, it's not universal. Some will not offer it unless you've applied for pro bono work or legal aid.
And many that do say they offer a free 15 minutes or whatever, you're often not talking to the lawyer themselves, you're talking to their assistant who takes your info and will get back to you with some very basic answers, along with an offer to retain them of course.
Lawyers don't like working for free. If they did free 15 minute phone calls at will they'd spend entire work days taking free phone calls.
I did get a free 5 minutes once, but that turned into a "come see me at my office to discuss this further" which only happened because based on that 5 minutes it was abundantly clear given the situation that I was highly likely to be retaining them at that point.
I'm not saying it's not possible, but it's not as easy as is often envisioned.
here's the google search results... the first link is to Ontario's website telling you they banned non-competes except in certain circumstances. The next few pages are lawyer's sites talking about the same thing. I didn't see a reddit link in the first few pages.
I've done it and had no issues. Talked to the lawyer and they were straight up and gave me answers. In short, while my employer had moral issues, those didn't translate into dollars owed to employees. I left the company shortly after as it became obvious there was no desire for change there. I didn't need a union, I am happier now, I have seen the bad side of unions 100 times for every 1 time I've seen them help someone that was wronged/endangered.
Great but again, what if you work in a place with limited employment opportunities or if you lack the experience to apply for a number of positions.
For me I could have moved but what was happening was blatantly unfair and I had union backing to follow it up and seek redress. So I did which ensured that anyone following me would not be subject to the same issues. That made sure the organization was operating within a fair framework and that employees were being treated fairly. Win win.
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I'm just responding mostly in jest for the purpose of this thread, but I do discourage people from getting legal advice on Google regardless as you end up in places like r/legaladvicecanada on reddit, or joe-blows random website, or whatever, and quite often you get bad advice as a result.
It's like using Google to diagnose medical conditions. The results might be right sometimes, sure, but they could also be very, very wrong, and there is potential real world consequences thereof.
DownUnder
Well-known member
That's the exact thing people using "free" healthcare say, unfortunately doctors don't work for free and neither do "union" lawyers.
My union fees compared to my salary are minimal. Taken at source so I don’t feel it. Think of it as insurance, you pay it in case you need it but you hope not to use it. I’ve seen the benefits and for me it’s not just worth it but in this particular environment it’s necessary. There’s plenty of benefits for me (and other members) also in terms of grants, strike pay if necessary, free legal advice on certain matters, lobbying for better conditions etc etc.
Just like “free” healthcare, it’s better than being in a country where the alternate may be going broke.
Imagine if they WEREN'T unionized?
We'd be able to see a live leaf game for $25, instead of $425.
The $20 pop would be $2.99.
No professional athletes would be making a million / week!
NHL - The NHLPA is the players' union.
NFL- NFLPA......ditto for football.
MLB - Major League Baseball Players Association.......is the baseball players union.
The counterpoint to that is when the union doesn't care about the host, they have a tendency to suck it dry. The union survives. The host dies and employees take a beating.
If one union is a bad player does it mean all unions are? Corporations would love you to believe that.
On the other hand, not all corporations are bad but there’s enough evidence to suggest that unions are necessary in some because of the way they treat their workers. Say, like Amazon.
On the other hand, not all corporations are bad but there’s enough evidence to suggest that unions are necessary in some because of the way they treat their workers. Say, like Amazon.
Relax
Well-known member
Yeah, bad example, that's why I clarified after. I don't follow sports at all. My point was what if they were unionized like typical company unions that reward mediocrity and seniority.
It's hard to find a single example of a public sector union that cares even a tiny bit about the host.
I have had experience with a number of unions. All were in it to enrich the execs and protected the worst of the worst employees and lowest possible work output ferociously. Not a single one worked to purge the filth from within.
In my 20+ years at my current company I have seen no less than 2 or 3 guys get fired and never come back. The union didn’t stand behind any of them given the situations, except for ensuring they got their rightful severance. I have also seen downsizing where we lost at one point half our staff. The union didn’t force the company to make fake jobs for them.
Again, not all unions are bad.
Relax
Well-known member
This sums it all up for me. If the company is so bad it needs a union, why would anyone want to work there in the first place? Amazon isn't the only place hiring, no matter how bad the job market is. And now that they got their union in that one Quebec location, everyone in Quebec loses their jobs. Good work protecting those jobs, union! I'm sure they're heartbroken because of all the lost memberships (not members).
That’s not my experience. My union has made working conditions better. Without it it would probably be a mess. Absolutely no one is in this union to get rich, mostly as all the positions are voluntary. The “pay” is a slightly reduced workload for some as union duties are counted towards that. I didn’t even get that though. I felt like paying a bit back.
They lobby for what’s included in your medical plans etc so we get a say in that. They make sure that bargaining is fair, I haven’t seen any outrageous demands from the union side, just pushback on things that would add extra unpaid work etc.
No one calls me comrade, no one wears a Che Guevara beret handing out hammer and sickle branded mugs, no one makes you say “person-hole cover” and I don’t own any rainbow coloured things. The reality is quite boring compared to what may be portrayed by companies that are anti-union. Until bargaining time we just get a monthly news-letter reminding us to use the grants or the free tuition for family members or whatever else the union lobbied for and gained that makes the workplace much better for all.
Some of you have never worked a zero skill / low skill manual labour job, and it shows.
Some of you haven’t had to search for a job in while either. Especially in zero/low skill jobs.
It’s easy to get a skewed view on the realities of others when you have never been in their shoes, or don’t have friends wearing those shoes. When you sit down over dinner with a friend in those shoes and hear how hard they’re struggling and what’s happening to them despite trying their best sometimes and how disheartening that is for them, you may have a change of heart on how you feel about this whole picture.
It’s disheartening to see the attitude of others that nobody should deserve respect or equity and fairness in the workplace. “Just quit and go get another job” shouldn’t be the default answer. Just letting ****** employers continue to be ****** employers is also not the answer.
Some of you haven’t had to search for a job in while either. Especially in zero/low skill jobs.
It’s easy to get a skewed view on the realities of others when you have never been in their shoes, or don’t have friends wearing those shoes. When you sit down over dinner with a friend in those shoes and hear how hard they’re struggling and what’s happening to them despite trying their best sometimes and how disheartening that is for them, you may have a change of heart on how you feel about this whole picture.
It’s disheartening to see the attitude of others that nobody should deserve respect or equity and fairness in the workplace. “Just quit and go get another job” shouldn’t be the default answer. Just letting ****** employers continue to be ****** employers is also not the answer.
