Dear Sir [Bob Matheson]

I have recently been contemplating membership with MEC in Toronto in large part because impressed with your sourcing policy. However, the strike by women of UNITE against JB Fields and your reaction to it leaves me troubled and wondering about your commitment to your policy.

I have reviewed the web site maintained by friends of UNITE and I find the facts presented there very compelling. By contrast, I find your claim that there is not enough information to take sides puzzling and disturbing. The women have been asked to take a 38% pay cut and to agree to productivity quotas. I understand that their working conditions are difficult. The men, by contrast, have not been asked to make the same concessions. Clearly, this is a case of sex discrimination. The company has imposed measures that impose a far more significant burden on the women who work there than on the men. Of course I do not mean to suggest that all workers at JB Field should be subject to the same harsh treatment dished out to the women. My point is simply that ALL should have their rights respected and that one group should not be unjustly asked to take a greater share of the hardship.

As a company dedicated to fairness, you should not be waiting for the labour board to render a decision when the injustices are so blatant. Rather, you should be applying your own policy to the clear facts of this case and refrain from selling JB Fields products altogether until the women are treated fairly. When the labour board renders a decision, it will fashion a remedy that it thinks appropriate in the circumstance. It is unclear when such a remedy will come. In the meantime, you should be taking your own action as set out in your policy.

While I think that your current policy of advising customers is a good start, I also think that it falls short your sourcing policy. I urge to take another look at this situation. In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the strike by the women of UNITE and your response. I will also make a point of asking all my friends who are members of MEC or who are contemplating membership to do the same.