The grievor referred two grievances to adjudication – one against a 30-day suspension – the other asking for damages under the Charter – at the hearing, the grievor withdrew his claim for Charter damages – the grievor was suspended without pay for 30 days after writing a letter to the United States Secretary for Homeland Security – the grievor wrote the letter as First National Vice-President of Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise, a component of the bargaining agent representing customs officers – in his letter, the grievor raised various points that he believed could be of interest to American officials concerning the hiring and training of Canadian customs officers – the employer considered the letter highly inappropriate, especially in light of heightened border security sensitivities after the events of September 11, 2001 – the adjudicator found, based on the Shaw test, that the employer had not demonstrated that in writing the letter the grievor was acting outside of the scope of his duties as a union official nor that the contents of the letter were malicious or knowingly or recklessly false.

Grievance allowed.