[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] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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] BILLING CODE 4510-28-P