The City of Moncton thinks that showing up drunk at work toting a loaded, sawed-off shotgun in search of the boss is a firing offence. The city's union disagrees.
Seven days after George Pavlovsky was fired from his job as a senior tree cutter with the City of Moncton, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 51 filed a grievance to his employer challenging the dismissal.
That would be normal procedure by a union in most cases, but Mr. Pavlovksy's was far different from most cases. The details were recounted during his trial this month.
The 44-year-old arrived at the Moncton Public Works Operation Centre on April 10 extremely intoxicated and carrying a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun. He was looking for two senior managers.
The two were not in their offices, but in meetings at the time. As he stormed through the sprawling operations centre, his two dozen co-workers ran for cover or fled the building.
Mr. Pavlovksy was acquitted of attempted murder charges related to the incident and is now serving a two-year sentence in Dorchester Penitentiary for the lesser weapons-related offence of carrying a loaded gun for the purpose of committing a crime.
He is hoping to get his job back when he is released.
"Certainly it is shocking,' said Susan Barton, a spokeswoman for Local 51, of Mr. Pavlovsky's actions. "But Mr. Pavlovsky is a CUPE member and has a right to representation. We have a duty to represent him. There are mitigating factors and extenuating circumstances and we'll have to look at the facts of the case."
Steve MacKinnon, a spokesman for the City of Moncton, said he was shocked to learn the union would grieve Mr. Pavlovsky's firing and that the city would fight the action.
"I don't know why they'd want to take a hit on this," he said.
"In some cases there is a pretty high threshold for dismissal, but coming in drunk with a gun and saying 'Where's the boss?' I would submit we are way beyond that."
Mr. MacKinnon said that the gun-toting tree cutter, a long-time employee of the city, had a history of temper tantrums and outbursts directed at colleagues, although he was not aware of any letters in Mr. Pavlovsky's file.
"He had a bit of a temper but I think he was good at what he did," Mr. MacKinnon said. "He specialized in tree pruning."
Michèle Caron, a labour law professor at the University of Moncton, told ATV news that a judiciary outcome does not always determine how the grievance process will progress, saying an adjudicator will consider everything, including mitigating circumstances, when listening to the evidence.
During his trial, court heard that Mr. Pavlovsky was angry with his superiors after being passed up for a promotion.
A co-worker disarmed the disgruntled employee and Mounties arrived shortly afterward and arrested him.
He went willingly, Mr. MacKinnon said, but a blood-alcohol test showed Mr. Pavlovsky's blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.
None of the employees who were present at the time of the incident were willing to be interviewed. Mr. MacKinnon said many are still upset and several are off work on stress leave.
"The impact on his union brothers and sisters has been enormous," he said. "This has been very hard psychologically on people. The effects are wide and long-lasting."
Ms. Barton said that the union "has an obligation to represent everybody in our local."
But she would not comment on how Mr. Pavlovsky's return would affect others should he get his job back, saying only that the arbitration process was "months down the road."
