In preparation for coming here today, I actually canvassed my staff, because I'm not directly involved in the representation of the membership. Quite frankly, I have not personally witnessed or experienced sexual harassment. Even though DND may not be the greatest workplace, I enjoyed my work with DND.
I asked for examples and whether or not we have any ongoing cases. I was surprised to find out that we actually have four.
One was an actual allegation by a male member against a male member. I don't know what's going to happen with that one.
In another case brought to my attention, one of our female members filed a charge of sexual harassment in the workplace. She's in a non-traditional female job working with a group of males. The outcome of her grievance was that the complaint was not founded. She is now facing allegations of filing a frivolous charge and is under investigation herself.
In another case, the employer actually upheld a grievance of an allegation that a male co-worker exposed himself to another female member. The respondent received a five-day suspension. The reason the grievance is at the final level with us is that the complainant was not happy with the outcome of the five-day suspension. She felt the penalty should be more.
In the fourth example I was given, we actually have a person who has been accused of touching female co-workers. The employer is possibly looking at workforce adjusting this person and giving them a buyout to leave.
That's how DND addresses harassment in the workplace.