Day 143 - 27 Jun 95 - Page 21

     
     1        promote employees.  The record does not establish further
     2        or additional autonomous discretion or managerial authority
     3        vested in the Store Managers or Assistants."   Is that
     4        paragraph correct in terms of the powers and
     5        responsibilities of the store management as opposed to what
     6        is laid down from on high?
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Are you saying within this franchisee's
     9        operation or generally?
    10
    11   MS. STEEL:   Generally.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Because later on it goes on to compare a
    14        decision in Washington DC where the court, or whatever it
    15        is called, the Board, reached a different conclusion simply
    16        because the facts were rather different.  The Manager
    17        there, for instance, had power to hire and fire himself.
    18
    19        All the underlinings, I notice, here are underlinings of
    20        features which whoever did the underlinings thought were
         significant matters which went to the eventual conclusion
    22        of this tribunal, contrary to the tribunal before whom the
    23        appeal came, that the proper unit was the 12 stores rather
    24        than the one on Wabash Avenue on its own.
    25
    26   MS. STEEL:  First of all then, is that accurate in relation to
    27        this particular franchise operation?
    28        A.  I frankly would not know that much detail.
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What you are really being asked by Ms. Steel
    31        is whether the situation which the National Labour
    32        Relations Board found prevailed in Lion Webber Management
    33        stores might be pretty typical or not unusual for other
    34        franchisees across the country?
    35        A.  It will vary, my Lord, as to how much authority and
    36        power is granted by the owner/operator or the area
    37        supervisor.  So I -- it will vary.  These are independent
    38        business people, my Lord, who are required to take our
    39        system of specifications and what we expect as outcomes
    40        with customers, if you will.  Then it is up to them to get
         from the manuals to the actual way of conducting their
    42        business.
    43
    44        We make numerous recommendations, but then it is up to them
    45        to as to how to proceed with it.  So, what I am really is
    46        I have seen this kind of an approach, I have seen different
    47        kind of approaches with regard to authority.  It will
    48        vary.  Sometimes it depends upon the experience of the
    49        managers, or the lack of experience of managers, and the
    50        desire of the area supervisor or owner/operator to continue 
    51        to train and develop their people before giving them more 
    52        responsibility.  There can be a variety of factors why an 
    53        owner/operator would do different things, my Lord.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:   What is said there, would that be true of McOpco
    56        stores?
    57        A.  Generally, we have for every four stores in McOpco
    58        there would be area supervisor who would oversee those
    59        stores and pay pretty strict attention to what was going
    60        on.