Yahoo Finance Racism allegations point to 'systemic flaws' in union, says president
The head of one of Ontario's largest unions is acknowledging "systemic flaws" within the organization after a Black union president alleged she'd been bullied and secretly monitored by her fellow officers.
Annette Bouzi, a law professor and the first Black woman to be elected president of the faculty union at Algonquin College in Ottawa, spoke to CBC News Wednesday about the treatment she'd been subjected to after first being elected a union officer in 2018.
Bouzi launched a complaint against the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in February, alleging the union failed to protect her.
In a Friday letter, OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said he welcomed "being called out anytime someone can identify structures and practices that maintain white supremacy" within the union.
"As one who never shies away from difficult conversations, I welcome the CBC reports," wrote Thomas in the letter.
"The revelations shine light on some of the reasons OPSEU/SEFPO is actively engaged in efforts to dismantle anti-Black and other forms of racism within the union and in the workplaces we represent."
WATCH | Annette Bouzi alleges bullying, sexism and racism in union:
Mail allegedly opened
Bouzi told CBC she was initially shunned and excluded from meetings with fellow union members. After she later won the presidency, she found a surveillance camera installed in the office, with no signage saying people were being recorded.
After reviewing the footage, Bouzi found union officers had been opening and resealing her mail.
She also gained access to interoffice emails she described as "disparaging, sarcastic, mocking, dehumanizing, racist and violent."
CBC also spoke to Hayton Morrison, a retired correctional officer and former OPSEU member who along with other Black colleagues received anonymous notes with violent, racist language and threats in the late 2000s.
'An equity lens'
In his statement, Thomas said staff would "apply an equity lens" to the union's system and structures, examining how they affected "Black, racialized and Indigenous staff and members."
Thomas said he also had a motion in front of the union's executive board to make the three temporary positions on the union's employment equity team permanent.
"This work will be bold and it will be intentional. It may be perceived as provocative. But it will achieve real results," Thomas wrote.
OPSEU represents about 170,000 health-care, community college and LCBO workers across the province.
