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It is the firm position of the London Musicians' Association ("LMA") that Rogers Television, London Cable 13 ("Rogers") did not "make every reasonable effort to enter into a scale agreement". Further; Rogers denial that it breached section 32(a) of the Status of the Artist Act is contentious based in part on the following facts:

(i) The LMA sent a registered "Notice To Bargain" letter to Rogers on March 6, 2003. That letter contained the following specific request:

"Would you please respond in writing within fourteen (14) days of the above date indicating your willingness to enter into negotiations. Upon receipt of such letter, we will contact you by telephone to arrange mutually agreeable dates to meet."

No written response to this letter has ever been received. Further, it was only through our efforts of repeated attempts to contact station manager Scott Jackson via telephone that resulted in a "mutually agreeable date to meet". There is no evidence to suggest that Rogers demonstrated (written or orally) a "willingness to enter into negotiations".

(ii) Section 32(a) of the Status of the Artist Act requires that:

"the artists' association and the producer shall without delay, but in any case within twenty days after the notice was issued, unless they otherwise agree, meet, or send authorized representatives to meet, and begin to bargain in good faith, and make every reasonable effort to enter into a scale agreement;"

No meeting took place within twenty days after the notice was issued. There is no evidence to suggest that Rogers made any attempt what-so-ever to facilitate a meeting. Despite several attempts by the LMA to contact station manager Scott Jackson within the required twenty days after the notice was issued, no contact was established. As such, no agreement to meet at a time beyond the twenty day requirement was confirmed during this time.

Point No. 2

It is the position of the LMA that Rogers did not bargain in good faith on April 30, 2003. The fact that a meeting took place on that date between representatives of the LMA and Rogers does not, in itself, provide evidence of good faith bargaining on the part of Rogers. The fact that to date, a second meeting has not taken place further supports our position.

Point No. 3

It is simply incomprehensible for the LMA to accept that Rogers Communications suffered an internal "communications" breakdown lasting more than five months. Further, we do not feel that a defense of "miscommunication" is appropriate or relevant to our Complaint.

Rogers' station manager Scott Jackson communicated his company's position with great clarity during a phone conversation on July 4, 2003 with LMA Sec-Treas Jeremy Price. Mr. Jackson stated that he had no further interest in negotiating a scale agreement and that he would not agree to, or attend any further meetings. We trust that Mr. Jackson was speaking as an "authorized representative" of Rogers as required by the Status of the Artist Act.

Point No. 4

Since September 17, 2003 Rogers Communications Inc. has shown respectful and sincere attention to this important matter. This is in sharp contrast to their efforts leading up to the filing of our Complaint and has no relevance to the validity or outcome of such complaint.

Point No. 5

The LMA does not dispute this claim. However, as the actions were "subsequent to the filing of this Complaint" we fail to see their relevance to this case.

We are extremely pleased to be resuming our negotiations with Rogers Communications Inc. on October 21, 2003. We remain optimistic that a feeling of mutual trust will evolve as we work cooperatively toward the goal of a mutually beneficial scale agreement.

Point No. 6

It is the position of the LMA that Rogers demonstrated no evidence of "good faith" during the time period in which the Complaint is based. The subsequent arrangement to resume negotiations on October 21, 2003 does not absolve Rogers of its previous responsibilities under the Act. As such, we feel there are no grounds for a dismissal of the Complaint.

Point No. 7

The LMA believes strongly that the actions of Rogers were in breach of section 32(a) of the Status of the Artist Act.

This regrettable experience provides us with a clear example of the importance and significance of the Act. It is indeed the very reason it was established and it must be respected. We feel anything less would deprive the members we represent of their right to be treated with dignity and fairness by producers. Accordingly, we ask that the Tribunal uphold our Complaint on the basis of the facts. Upon such finding, the LMA believes that a remedial order filed with a Federal Court for enforcement will not be necessary. However, we do feel that an order of compliance issued by the Tribunal to Rogers would be appropriate and would help to ensure that future negotiations are conducted in good faith.

Respectfully submitted this 1st day of October.

Jeremy Price
Secretary-Treasurer
London Musicians' Association
AFM Local 279

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