[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71162-71163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34007]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Bureau of International Labor Affairs; U.S. National 
Administrative Office; North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation; 
Notice of Determination Regarding Review of Submission U.S. #9803

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. National Administrative Office (NAO) gives notice 
that on December 18, 1998, U.S. Submission #9803 was accepted for 
review. The submission was filed with the NAO on October 19, 1998 by 
the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters Canada, Quebec 
Federation of Labor, Teamsters Local 973 (Montreal), and the 
International Labor Rights Fund. The submission raises issues of anti-
union motivated plant closing and delays in the union certification 
procedure in cases involving multiple franchise business employers and 
locations. The issues arose from efforts to organize employees of a 
McDonald's restaurant in the city of St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada.
    Article 16(3) of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation 
(NAALC) provides for the review of labor law matters in Canada and 
Mexico by the NAO. The objectives of the review of the submission will 
be to gather information to assist the NAO to better understand and 
publicly report on the Government of Canada's compliance with the 
obligations set forth in the NAALC.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irasema T. Garza, Secretary, U.S. 
National Administrative Office, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, N.W., Room C-4327, Washington, D.C. 20210. Telephone: (202) 
501-6653 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 19, 1998, U.S. Submission #9803 
was filed with the NAO by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 
Teamsters Canada, Quebec Federation of Labor, Teamsters Local 973 
(Montreal), and the International Labor Rights Fund. The submission 
raises issues of anti-union motivated plant closing and delays in the 
union certification procedure in cases involving multiple franchise 
employer and business locations.
    The submitters allege that in February 1998, a franchisee of 
McDonald's Corporation violated workers' rights to organize when it 
closed its St. Hubert restaurant during the union certification 
process. They assert that the Quebec Government violated Articles 2 and 
3 of the NAALC by not providing a remedy for a plant closure based on 
anti-union motives and not enforcing the freedom of association. The 
submitters also assert that the absence of recourse procedures to the 
individual workers who lost employment after the closure of McDonald's 
constitutes a violation of Article 4(2) of the NAALC.
    The submitters allege that efforts to organize employees of a 
McDonald's restaurant in the city of St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada were 
hindered by the union certification process. The submitters assert that 
the Quebec Government's certification process violates Article 5(1) of 
the NAALC which commits the Parties to ensure that administrative, 
quasi-judicial, judicial, and labor tribunal proceedings are not 
unnecessarily complicated and do not entail unreasonable time limits or 
delays.
    The procedural guidelines for the NAO, published in the Federal 
Register on April 7, 1994, 59 FR 16660, specify that, in general, the 
Secretary of the NAO shall accept a submission for review if it raises 
issues relevant to labor law matters in Canada or Mexico and if a 
review would further the objectives of the NAALC.
    Submission U.S. #9803 relates to labor law matters in Canada. A 
review would appear to further the objectives of the NAALC, as set out 
in Article 1 of the NAALC, among them improving working conditions and 
living standards in each Party's territory, promoting the set of labor 
principles, and encouraging publication and exchange of information, 
data development and coordination to enhance mutually beneficial 
understanding of the laws and institutions governing labor in each 
Party's territory.
    Accordingly, this submission has been accepted for review of the 
allegations raised therein. The NAO's decision is not intended to 
indicate any determination as to the validity or accuracy of the 
allegations contained in the submission. The objectives of the review 
will be to gather information to assist the NAO to better understand 
and publicly report on the freedom of association and protection of the 
right to organize raised in the submission, including the Government of 
Canada's compliance with the obligations agreed to under Articles 2,3,4 
and 5 of the NAALC. The review will be completed, and a public report 
issued, within 120 days, or 180 days if circumstances require an 
extension of time, as set out

[[Page 71163]]

in the procedural guidelines of the NAO.

    Signed at Washington, D.C. on December 18, 1998.
Irasema T. Garza,
Secretary, U.S. National Administrative Office.
[FR Doc. 98-34007 Filed 12-22-98; 8:45 am]
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