Nothing has really changed in the rotten head of the FTQ-Construction, apart from the names. The spirit is the same. The same gang of bums is in command.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
And the best part of the deal? As in the criminal times of Jocelyn Dupuis, the president of the powerful Quebec Federation of Labor will do nothing to change that. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
E-nothing.
The FTQ-Construction means contributions of 30 million per year to the FTQ central office. It is also a union of strong arms which has always been able to keep its mouth shut.
It is therefore an understatement to say that the FTQ-Construction holds the rest of the FTQ through the stock market.
Thursday, my colleague Émilie Bilodeau told us that unionist Rénald Grondin had repeatedly harassed and sexually assaulted his secretary. During two years. Between 2008 and 2010. A decision of the Professional Injury Commission confirms this. The victim still lives a psychological hell, 12 years later.
At the time, Grondin was general manager of the very anonymous inter-provincial labor union (AMI), affiliated with the FTQ-Construction.
SCREEN CAPTURE FROM A VIDEO OF THE BUILDERS’ DINNERS
Rénald Grondin was president of the FTQ-Construction until his resignation last Thursday.
In 2018, six years after a judge described Grondin’s sexual abuse in black and white in a public decision, he found himself president of the FTQ-Construction. The names do not appear in the 2012 decision, but after such a serious decision involving the AMI, it is impossible to seriously believe that the information did not circulate.
How did he himself think of doing that without danger? Because he knows his gang.
How did no one stop him? Because it’s his gang.
That pretty much sums up how this boy club has nothing to wax about the law, women’s rights and everything they claim to defend in their press releases, as my colleague Rima Elkouri explained well on Friday.
Let’s read this press release from Thursday: “For the FTQ-Construction, sexual and psychological harassment is zero tolerance. We know that we operate in a male-dominated industry with a difficult climate for female workers and we must be an example for all. »
Isn’t that beautiful, just a little, that? Zero tolerance !
No, what a joke.
The lawyer representing the AMI, where Grondin worked, was Robert Laurin. Mand Laurin is also… the lawyer for the FTQ-Construction. And the lawyer didn’t say anything when this guy was going to become the president of the FTQ-Construction? He didn’t even bother to alert management? The workers, who pay his wages?
Seems to me that it’s not the end, that, Mand Lauren. Seems like highly relevant information, right?
Asked by my colleague Émilie Bilodeau, Ms.and Laurin answered this: “It was not up to me to raise my hand to the FTQ-Construction. I am a prosecutor. I am not a leader. »
It’s pretty, isn’t it?
Mand Laurin did not have the same reservations when he went to feast on Jocelyn Dupuis’ well-watered suppers at the worker’s expense, as evidenced by the work of the Charbonneau commission.
So let’s talk about the Charbonneau commission. We learned a lot about this sympathetic union.
I take us back to March 2009. The media began to publish the princely expense reports of trade unionist Jocelyn Dupuis, then director of the FTQ-Construction. It smacks of full-blown fraud at the expense of the construction worker – Dupuis would later be sentenced to a year in prison, by the way.
The president of the central, Michel Arsenault, does not really like the smell of scandal. Especially since Dupuis also has links with relatives of the Hells Angels and the mafia. He has just learned that the director of the FTQ-Construction at the time, Richard Goyette, asked for the approval of the boss Raynald Desjardins (right arm of Vito Rizzuto) before accepting the position. To make sure he doesn’t “do shit”.
Arsenault calls one of his political advisers. He worries about what he learns. His adviser told him: “The gangrene is worse than you think. »
Response from Michel Arsenault?
“I have no advantage in interfering. We’ll push that on them. If we have a crooked affiliate, why would I take it on my shoulders? »
Here, summarized in a few words, is the FTQ’s approach to this state within a state. Say nothing and let it be.
That hasn’t changed either, if you’ve read the platitudes of the current president, Daniel Boyer, a man genuinely sensitive to the promotion of women in the construction industry, etc.
Also note: the name of Rénald Grondin appears several times in the commission’s report. He was close, very close to Jocelyn Dupuis. He was aware of the shenanigans, the rigged union elections, the cronyism with organized crime.
The simple fact of having been paired with Dupuis’ group should be enough to disqualify him.
But we are at the FTQ-Construction. So, boo!
The findings of a court on his repeated harassment and assault?
There is nothing there! Even the union’s lawyer sees no reason to alert anyone!
Union press release: “Our organization will step up its investigations to ensure that such a situation does not happen again and will make sure to honor the high standards demanded by the members who have chosen us throughout the province. »
She is good, admit it. Everyone knows each other, has been seeing each other, has been friends for years. But it takes them “investigations” to find out who they are dealing with…
They will tell you that investigations (by the CCQ in particular) have taken place and have revealed nothing. Except that the only check allowed is that of the criminal record. However, Grondin was never criminally charged for this harassment and assault. It was “only” labor law.
If you ask me, they knew very well who they were dealing with. He has been on bodies for years, knows everyone and is known to everyone.
And that’s exactly why he was president until Thursday.
Because nothing should change at the FTQ-Construction.
Because “gangrene is more serious than you think”, but it suits a lot of people. And that the FTQ-Construction, with its 80,000 members, is also just the FTQ.