OK to Fire Worker Who Was a “Simmering Ball of Negativity”

A city worker was fired after making somewhat menacing comments about cleaning his gun and hunting; while on duty yelling at protesters to ‘get a f%^*ing job’; saying ‘the only good wop is a dead wop’; and driving a city vehicle the wrong way down a street. The union challenged his termination. But the arbitrator disagreed with the union’s assessment that the worker was just ‘eccentric,’ instead characterizing him as a ‘simmering ball of negativity.’ These events, which occurred over 10 days, warranted discipline and, in light of his disciplinary record, termination [Windsor (City) v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 543, [2013] CanLII 40522 (ON LA), July 4, 2013].