Disclaimer
This guide is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Filing a Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) complaint is a legal process, and outcomes may vary depending on individual circumstances. If you require legal guidance, consult a qualified attorney or labor law professional for advice specific to your case.
This guide is specifically tailored to filing a Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) complaint with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board against a Canadian union for failing to represent its members during the employer-enforced vaccine mandate. This guide is designed to maximize the complainant’s chances of obtaining the most favorable result possible.
⚖️ Why This Guide Matters
During the employer-enforced vaccine mandate, many unions failed to protect their members, siding with the employer rather than fulfilling their legal duty to advocate for workers. Instead of defending members against unjust suspensions, terminations, and violations of bodily autonomy and religious freedom, unions:
✔ Supported the employer’s mandate, ignoring legal and ethical concerns.
✔ Failed to fight for members who lost their jobs, abandoning them to employer coercion.
✔ Allowed exemptions to be routinely ignored or denied, failing to protect those with medical conditions or religious beliefs.
✔ Did nothing to stop remote workers from being forced to comply, despite them posing zero health risk in the workplace.
✔ Created a clear bias against members who exercised bodily autonomy, fostering discrimination.
🎯 Goal of This Guide
To help people. This guide will help as many members as possible file complaints against their union for violating their Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA).
By filing a formal complaint, you can:
✅ Seek compensation for lost wages, benefits, and emotional distress.
✅ Hold unions accountable for their failures.
✅ Push for policy changes to prevent future union negligence.
The more complaints that are filed, the stronger our collective case for accountability!
📝 Step 1: Do You Have Grounds for a Complaint?
You may file a DFR complaint if your union:
🚫 Betrayed Its Members – Sided with the employer by failing to challenge the legality and fairness of the vaccine mandate.
🚫 Enabled Medical Coercion – Abandoned workers who complied under duress, forcing them to choose between their job and bodily autonomy.
🚫 Denied Fundamental Rights – Ignored or actively rejected legitimate medical and religious exemption requests without meaningful advocacy.
🚫 Failed Remote Workers – Allowed fully remote employees—who posed zero workplace risk—to be unfairly subjected to the mandate.
🚫 Fostered Discrimination – Treated unvaccinated members as less deserving of representation, failing to protect them from bias and exclusion.
🚫 Neglected Vaccine-Injured Members – Ignored those who suffered serious health consequences—even when they took the vaccine unwillingly.
🚫 Refused to Fight for You – Dismissed or discouraged grievances, discouraged legal action, and failed to represent members faced with threats of job loss, unknown periods of forced unpaid leave, aggressive and harsh exclusions from society, strict travel restrictions, and termination.
💥 Your union had a duty to protect you. They failed. Hold them accountable! 💥
📌 If any of the above apply to you, you have a strong case for filing a complaint.
📂 Step 2: Gather Your Evidence
✔ Union Public Statements – Emails, press releases, or internal communications where the union supported the mandate.
✔ Employer Communications – Vaccine mandate policies, unpaid leave notices, or termination letters.
✔ Medical or Religious Exemption Requests – Proof that you applied for an exemption and were denied.
✔ Witness Testimonies – Statements from other members who were also denied support.
✔ Correspondence with the Union (if applicable) – Emails or messages showing they ignored you.
Having strong evidence will increase your chances of success.
🖊️ Step 3: Complete Your Complaint Form
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) handles these complaints.
✔ Go to the e-Filing Portal: FPSLREB e-Filing
✔ Select: “Duty of Fair Representation Complaint”
✔ Fill out the complaint form using the template below
✍️ Step 4: Use This Complaint Template
This is a ready-to-use complaint letter—simply fill in the blanks with your details!
SAMPLE COMPLAINT LETTER
Here's a revised and enhanced version of your complaint letter template, incorporating the additional cases and strengthening the argument.
[Insert Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, Province, Postal Code]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email]
[Date]
To:
Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB)
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A5
Subject: Complaint Against [Union Name] for Failure to Represent Members During Employer-Enforced Vaccine Mandates
1. Complainant Information
Full Name: [Insert Your Name]
Employer: [Insert Your Employer Name]
Job Title: [Insert Your Job Title]
Bargaining Unit: [Insert Your Bargaining Unit]
Union Name: [Insert Your Union’s Name]
2. Nature of the Complaint
I am filing this Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) complaint against my union, [Union Name], for failing to uphold its duty to fairly and equally represent all members during the employer-enforced vaccine mandate.
The union’s failures include but are not limited to:
✔ Publicly endorsing the employer’s vaccine mandate rather than challenging its legality and fairness.
✔ Failing to support members who did not want the vaccine but complied under duress due to the threat of job loss or disciplinary action.
✔ Ignoring and failing to advocate for members suffering from vaccine injuries, whether they initially wanted the vaccine or not.
✔ Failing to represent members who lost their jobs or were forced on unpaid leave.
✔ Ignoring and failing to challenge medical and religious exemption denials.
✔ Remaining silent on the injustice of applying the mandate to fully remote workers.
✔ Encouraging discrimination against unvaccinated members rather than protecting them.
These failures resulted in significant financial, professional, and emotional harm.
3. Why I Did Not Initially Approach My Union
I did not seek assistance from my union because it had already made it clear that it sided with the employer and was not willing to defend its members.
The union publicly supported the mandate instead of advocating for member rights.
It failed to fight for those with legitimate medical or religious exemptions, allowing them to be unjustly denied.
It did not challenge the illogical mandate applied to full-time remote workers who posed zero risk to colleagues or the public.
It showed no support for those who complied under duress and ignored those who later suffered vaccine-related harm.
Given this, it was reasonable to believe that seeking union representation would be futile.
4. Specific Details of the Union’s Failure to Represent Me
On [Insert Date], my employer, [Employer Name], implemented a vaccine mandate requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated by [Insert Deadline] or face unpaid leave and/or termination.
A. The Union’s Failure to Defend Medical & Religious Exemptions
I applied for a [medical/religious] exemption on [Insert Date], but my employer denied my request without explanation.
Despite the legal obligation to assist, my union:
Failed to file a grievance or challenge the employer on my behalf.
Did not push for transparency in the exemption review process.
Ignored other members facing similar blanket denials.
B. The Union’s Failure to Defend Remote Workers
I have been a full-time remote worker since [Insert Date] and have no in-person contact with colleagues or the public.
Despite this, I was forced to comply with the vaccine mandate or face suspension.
There is no scientific or legal justification for enforcing a vaccine mandate on someone who has no physical interaction with others. The very premise of the mandate was to prevent transmission—yet it was acknowledged by both public health officials and vaccine companies that the vaccine does not stop transmission. When the mandated medical intervention doesn’t stop the spread, then the argument for forcing it onto others completely falls apart.
If the mandate’s goal was to protect the workplace, then why were remote workers, who never set foot in the workplace, forced to comply? The union did nothing to challenge this irrational policy.
C. The Union’s Failure to Support Those Who Complied Under Duress
Some members, myself included, did not want to take the vaccine but were coerced into compliance under the threat of losing our jobs.
The union made no effort to protect members from medical coercion, despite its obligation to do so.
The stress and pressure led to severe emotional distress, which the union ignored.
Some members suffered adverse effects from the vaccine, yet the union did nothing to support them post-mandate.
Had the union done its job, members could have made informed, voluntary choices rather than being forced into compliance under economic duress.
D. The Union’s Refusal to File Grievances for Unjust Job Actions
After I was [forced on unpaid leave/terminated] on [Insert Date], my union:
Refused to challenge my suspension/termination.
Told members there was nothing they could do.
Discouraged members from taking legal action.
These actions demonstrate bad faith, negligence, and bias against members who exercised bodily autonomy and religious freedom.
5. Broader Issues of Bodily Autonomy & Coerced Compliance
Bodily autonomy is a fundamental right—one that should never have been subject to coercion. History has repeatedly shown the devastating consequences of blindly trusting “the science” without question:
Doctors once promoted smoking as healthy.
The opioid crisis was fueled by claims of "safe and effective" drugs.
Lobotomies were considered a miracle cure.
Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women before devastating birth defects proved otherwise.
Forced sterilizations of marginalized groups were justified in the name of public health.
Even beyond medicine, history is filled with government-led atrocities justified by so-called “expert consensus.”
Conversion therapy for 2SLGBTQ people was once backed by medical professionals.
Indigenous children were torn from their families for “re-education,” supposedly for their own good.
In every case, those who questioned the prevailing narrative were shamed, silenced, and dismissed—until history proved them right.
This isn’t about being anti-vaccine—it’s about being pro-choice. One can support vaccines while also believing that medical decisions should be a personal choice, not a mandate.
6. The Union’s Own Acknowledgment of Its Failures
Even the union—which it claimed to “100% endorse”—has now admitted that the mandates were “unjust and excessive.”
Most religious and medical exemptions were denied without justification.
Full-time remote workers—who posed no threat—were still forced to comply.
Thousands lost their jobs, while the union did nothing.
How is this justifiable?
If we don’t force other medical treatments on people “for the greater good,” then why should vaccines be any different? Bodily autonomy should apply to all medical decisions, not just the ones we personally agree with.
7. Conclusion & Request for Investigation
I request that the FPSLREB investigate [Union Name] for its failure to fairly represent its members and take appropriate corrective action.
This experience, while deeply unjust, provides an opportunity for reflection and change. We must learn from these failures to ensure they are never repeated.
Real progress happens when we protect the fundamental right to bodily autonomy—the right of every individual to make their own medical decisions without coercion, discrimination, or threat of job loss.
8. Remedy Requested
I request that the FPSLREB:
Find that my union violated its Duty of Fair Representation.
Order my union to compensate me for lost wages, benefits, and damages.
Require my union to file retroactive grievances for affected members.
Mandate the union to publicly acknowledge its failures and implement corrective actions.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
📤 Step 5: Submit Your Complaint
✔ File Online: FPSLREB e-Filing Portal
✔ Mail or Fax:
FPSLREB, 240 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A5
Fax: 613-990-1849
🚀 Final Words: Take Action Now!
The more complaints that are filed, the stronger our case for justice and accountability. Unions failed their members—it’s time to hold them accountable!
🚀 Take 30 minutes to file your complaint today! 🚀
📢 Share – Spread the word to your friends and family.
ANNEX: What Happens After You File?
A. Initial Review (2-4 Weeks)
FPSLREB reviews your complaint.
They may ask for additional details.
B. Union’s Response (30 Days)
Your union must respond within 30 days.
They may deny responsibility or attempt to justify their actions.
C. Mediation (Optional)
FPSLREB may suggest mediation to settle without a hearing.
Only accept mediation if it benefits you (e.g., if the union offers compensation or reinstatement).
D. Formal Hearing (3-12 Months)
If mediation fails, your case goes to a formal hearing, where:
✔ You present your evidence and witnesses.
✔ The union must justify their inaction.
✔ A judge reviews the case and issues a decision.
E. Final Decision & Remedies (Several Months)
If your complaint is upheld, the Board may order:
✔ Reinstatement of grievances or lost job opportunities.
✔ Compensation for lost wages or damages.
✔ A directive for the union to fulfill its legal duty.
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