Zak Gunter took on a smoker at Health Canada for lighting up where she wasn’t supposed to, and the smoker won.
Gunter, 24, was stunned when he lost his job with a fire-alarm testing company as a result of a confrontation with a public servant who had been smoking near the main entrance of Health Canada’s Jeanne Mance Building at Tunney’s Pasture.
Gunter’s troubles began near the end of his second day at Jeanne Mance, on April 7, when he noticed yet another smoker, a couple of metres outside the lobby’s main doors, puffing away beside a No Smoking sign. He says that, as he was working in the lobby area and the main doors were in constant use, he had to put up with continuous bursts of cigarette smoke and odour from groups of smokers who were huddled near the entrance. The weather was pretty crummy both days that he worked there, with snow, rain, wind and cool temperatures…
As he had done on eight or nine other occasions with other smokers over the two days at Jeanne Mance, Gunter rapped on the window, got the attention of the woman, and pointed to the No Smoking sign near where she was standing.
But unlike the other smokers, who he says sheepishly took the hint and finished their cigarettes away from the main entrance, the middle-aged woman gestured at Gunter to leave her alone. When she came inside, she confronted Gunter and gave him a piece of her mind.
She told him that his rapping on the window frightened her and that he had no business telling her what to do.
When he arrived for work the next morning, Gunter was told by Siemens to leave the premises because the company was investigating his “altercation” with the woman. The next day, Gunter was told that he had been relieved of his job. When Gunter defended his rights as a non-smoker, he says a Siemens supervisor told him, “I don’t care about your rights.”
Forget reason, forget law!
I smoked for too many years to get involved in the argument. But I will say, as long as the evil weed is not only legal but one of the bases upon which the economy sits, accommodation should be made for those who choose to assault themselves in this fashion.
That said, I really, really hate having to cough and hack my way through a cloud of noxious fogs just to get into a building.
“Siemens supervisor told him, “I don’t care about your rights.”
An interesting choice of words. I wonder if he talked this over with the company lawyers first?
The problem I’m noting is that he is required by law to care and if he doesn’t his company’s butt is on the line.
The guy who got fired most likely should have been so busy doing his job that he didn’t even notice. Not doing his job is a reason for firing a person but I’m not sure the company is coming out of this with an intact skin.
>>MikeN said, on April 29th, 2009 at 9:39 am
>> Not letting people smoke outside either? When will liberals stop?
Is there ANY story you can’t turn into a wedge issue?
(I know several smoke-hating Republicans.)
But seriously, is there _any_ story you can’t divide America on?
Hmmm. Let me think. Something every body hates. OK….
How about door dings in parking lots?
Can you make that a wedge liberal vs. conservative issue?
>> Benjamin said,
>> If he would have tested alarms instead of meddling in other peoples business, he would have still had a job.
According to the account, the smoker’s smoke was going into the building. This is just the smoker’s business — it affects everybody and especially people with allergy and respiratory issues.
#32,
He was a temp. They were in their rights to fire him because he was a gay black jew with learning disabilities. If anything changes at all because of this, it will be that temps will be asked to sign a piece of paper making sure they can not be invited back for any reason what so ever, including this situation.
Benjamin said: “If he would have tested alarms instead of meddling in other peoples business”
By forcing others to smoke, the smoker was the one meddling in others’ business.
, he would have still had a job.
“In my town the stupid outlawing of cigarette smoking in bars made all the bar people stand outside the bar and smoke.”
Uh. no it hasn’t. No one is forcing them to smoke by the doors. They could, for example, choose to smoke at home or in their cars or somewhere else where it does not harass anyone else.
“Stop trying to fix the smoking problem. Leave people alone and the problem will fix itself.”
People getting ill and worse from being forced to breathe the results of others’ tobacco abuse is not a good example of something “fixing itself.
#32,
This happened in Canada, it was not a just cause for firing…he will get money, Siemens will pay
Nope. Even in Canada an employee may be terminated simply because the employer does not like his shoes, his breath, or the way he parts his hair. The only thing the employee can claim is the two weeks severance and a mark on his employment history as a trouble maker.
The exception to this legal concept is if he is a member of a union or can get the backing of the local Ministry of Labor office. He blew his chance for a Health and Safety complaint because that should have been addressed to the supervisor, not the smoker.
My favorite asshats are those that say they can’t stand those dirty disgusting smokers and then go smoke some 420 after work for so called medicinal purposes.
IMHO – he was harassing his customers staff at the work site. His employer was responding to his behaviour towards their mutual customer and not taking sides in the smokers debate.
You can’t have employees bothering your customers – whether it’s an employee with years on the job or a new comer. Personally I think that a warning and moving him off of this job site might have been more appropriate.
In any event there’s no doubt in my mind that this young man will know to treat his customers with greater respect in future.
I miss smoking on the plane. I miss smoking on the bus. I miss smoking at the restaurant and the bar. What i don’t miss is taking every opportunity to pollute the air of the pissy tight asses who bitch. Its like being in elementary school again with that little twitchy girl who spent the entire day running to teacher and tattling on anyone she could, because it made her feel like she had some power. Now i have gotten my self an e-cigarette for indoors. No tobacco, so no legitimate claims. And for all you little twits who like to complain about false statistics that second hand smoke kills; I say, “Take up smoking, the odds are better.”