Trial of Danny Glover and Ontario Labour Leaders Comes to a Close

From UNITE HERE:

Labour Leaders will be in Court to Defend Charter Rights: Thurs Jan 24th

NIAGARA FALLS January 21, 2008 - Well-known actor and activist Danny Glover will be told if the courts will be upholding his rights to peaceful assembly and free speech on behalf of Canadian hotel employees, along with UNITE HERE Canadian Co-Director Alex Dagg and Ontario Federation of Labour President Wayne Samuelson. The trio will be gathered to hear the courts decision which will be the end of a long and rare private prosecution, initiated by Canadian Niagara Hotels (CNH) after a September 2006 union rally at the Sheraton on the Falls in Niagara Falls.

Samuelson and Dagg will appear with criminal lawyer Frank Addario and co-defendant Catalina Gonzalez, a UNITE HERE organizer, at a Niagara Falls courthouse on Thursday, January 24th. The verdict will bring to a close two days of testimony last October that concerned Charter arguments and the impact on the Ontario labour movement of companies using private prosecutions to limit union's free speech, expression, association and assembly rights.

Who:
Alex Dagg, Canadian Co-Director, UNITE HERE
Wayne Samuelson, President, Ontario Federation of Labour
Frank Addario, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell Where:
Provincial Offences Court
4635 Queen Street West, Niagara Falls, Ontario

Date: Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Time: The verdict is scheduled to be given at 10:30. Participants may be able to speak to the media after court is dismissed.

Background

Dreamgirls and Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover has been working with UNITE HERE to raise awareness of the issues facing Niagara area hotel workers who are fighting to improve working conditions. Canadian Niagara Hotels (CNH) owns the Sheraton on the Falls, the Brock Plaza Hotel and the Skyline Inn in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Workers at the Brock Plaza have been unionized since 1942. The hotels were purchased in 1993 by Dino DiCienzo and his company Canadian Niagara Hotels. Since then union/management relationships have been difficult and UNITE HERE has been fighting to uphold basic parts of the collective agreement. UNITE HERE represents 50,000 hotel, food service, garment and manufacturing workers across Canada and 450,000 across North America.