The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) announced Wednesday evening that it has initiated a plan of action which makes every effort to ensure that the adjudication and officiating of horse racing continues if its unionized employees choose to strike at midnight.
A vote was held by AMAPCEO, the union that represents some ORC employees, on June 26 and June 27. The union has declined to announce the results of the vote, according to a release from the ORC.
Although neither the employees nor their union have informed the ORC of any plans of labour disruption, the employees will be legally entitled to commence a strike at 12:01 a.m. on July 5, 2012 subject to ORC unionized employees having voted in favour of a strike. A strike could take the form of a total or partial withdrawal of services.
"The ORC Administration wishes to reassure members of the racing community that it is in a state of preparedness," said ORC Executive Director John L. Blakney in the release. "The ability to continue racing under these circumstances will require the cooperation of racetrack management, horsepeople and their associations."
The release states that managers, supervisors, and other trained individuals will act as racing officials during scheduled racing.
There will be no disruption of ORC investigations functions, as these positions are not represented by the union.
Receipt and acknowledgement of Notices of Appeal to a panel of the Commission will be maintained. Hearings will be scheduled as necessary based on urgency.
License applications will continue to be accepted, but may be processed at a later date.
The ORC Supervisor of Veterinarians is also not represented by the union. As well, the Official Veterinarians at each track are not ORC employees and are not affected by this action.
The release states that the ORC is in negotiations with AMAPCEO and will continue to bargain in good faith, and that the ORC has been candid with the union about its financial circumstances in light of the changes to the industry.
“Communication with the racing community will be maintained during this period, including updates when appropriate on the status of negotiations,” said Blakney.
The ORC has 60 full-time employees, including 40 members of AMAPCEO. There are also 34 part-time ORC staff, including 28 AMAPCEO members.
The following positions are non-unionized and will be able to provide services to the racing community:
Administrative Assistant, OPP
Assistant Manager of Racing
Chief Administration Officer
Civilian Investigators, Intelligence Analyst, OPP
Corporate Planning Human Resources Officer
Deputy Director
Director of Industry Development and Support
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
General Counsel
Human Resource Assistant
Information Systems Coordinator
Litigation Counsel
Manager of Industry Development
Manager of Racing
Manager, Finance and Administration
Supervisor, Commission Standardbred Veterinarians
Team Leader, Regulatory Investigations
(With files from ORC)