USW opposed program began in December 2012
The United Steelworkers (USW) won an arbitration case on Jan. 23 that puts an end to random drug testing by Teck Resources at its unionized coal mines in the Elk Valley.
In December 2012, Teck began randomly testing employees for drug and alcohol use. The union opposed this and took action to oppose its implementation. The arbitration decision recognizes the importance of employee privacy rights and imposes a high bar on employers to justify random testing, said the union.
"The arbitrator completely rejected the idea that some theoretical, but non-existent safety risk justifies the intrusion of random testing when there is no evidence of workplace problems due to drug and alcohol use," said Stephen Hunt, USW district 3 director.
The victory by USW Locals 7884 and 9346 means the testing is to end at Fording River and Elkview mines and it is also struck down at Coal Mountain and Line Creek mines.
