Posted on 12/15/2005 6:59:12 AM PST by dukeman
Man Struggling to Support Three Small Children Faces Loss of Home
LifeSiteNews.com Exclusive
PORT COQUITLAM, BC- A member of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of renting the fraternity's hall for weddings and other events alleges he was fired from his day job at Costco for his involvement in denying two lesbians the facility for their same-sex "wedding." The human rights case in which the lesbian couple successfully sued the Knights of Columbus over the denial of the hall made international headlines. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/nov/05113006.html )
LESBIAN WAS A CO-WORKER WITH KNIGHT OF COLUMBUS
David Hauser told LifeSiteNews.com in an exclusive interview that Tracey Smith, one of the lesbians involved in the human rights complaint against the Knights, was also a co-worker of his at Costco. Hauser related that Smith and many of the management at the Port Coquitlam warehouse were openly homosexual. He related that for months before Smith and her same-sex partner approached his wife for the hall rental, these same individuals had been asking him about his involvement with the hall, and knew that he was in charge of bookings.
"In retrospect, they picked a time when they knew I would be at work to call my wife Sandra, who shows the hall when I am unavailable," Hauser said. He is convinced the entire fiasco was orchestrated before the event. However, in the human rights complaint against the Knights the lesbian couple claimed they did not realize the hall was affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Tracey's partner, Deborah Chymyshyn, claimed to the Vancouver Sun in November that, "If they would have let us know up front who they were, we probably would have never even gone there."
Terry Kidwell, State Deputy of the B.C. Knights of Columbus, told LifeSiteNews.com in an interview Dec.12 that Chymyshyn "said that 'she just happened to be driving around and saw the sign'" for the rental of the hall. "Well, that's a dead end street," Kidwell said. He indicated "you don't just happen to drive around" and find that hall and that one would have to deliberately drive to that location and stop to see the small 8 1/2 X 11 sign on the door.
"You can't see it from the street," Kidwell stated, adding "You would have had to get out of your car and go right up to the hall to see the sign. There is not a great big sign saying, 'hall for rent.'"
A big question therefore is how the two women would actually have known that the hall was for rent. All of this appears to support Hauser's contention that the two women knew about the hall and its connection to the Knights and their Catholic co-worker's involvement prior to their visit to the location.
Kidwell says these questions were probably not brought up in the human rights trial against the Knights because the focus of the defence was that, "because of our core religious beliefs we were entitled to not rent the hall to them."
Hauser said he and his wife were not initially aware of the couple's intention to wed each other, because the two had vaguely referred to a "wedding" without saying it was their own that they were planning. Hauser did not suspect anything when he read the names on the rental agreement, because he only knew Tracey at work by her first name.
Hauser alleges, "They [Smith and Chymyshyn] knew exactly what they were doing." The three-acre parcel where the Knight's hall is situated is also the location of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School. "There's a huge cross on that Church," Hauser said. "There's a huge picture of the Pope in the hall . . . there's no way they didn't know we were connected to the Church." (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/05120901.html )
FIRED BY HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST MANAGER
Hauser was fired from Costco November 3, 2004 - one year and two days after Smith and her same-sex partner Deborah Chymyshyn rented the hall.
Hauser's very openly gay boss, Mike Checko, and a friend of Smith's, fired Hauser. Hauser contends that his firing was completely without cause. He said his letter of release cited "violence in the workplace," allegedly committed in early August 2004. Hauser related that he and his wife were on vacation for two weeks during the early to mid-weeks of August. Another homosexual co-worker alleged in writing that Hauser had said he wanted to meet a fellow worker outside after work for a brawl.
"The workplace was absolute trouble for me - the manager of the 225 employee Costco warehouse constantly badgered me about it [the hall issue]." Hauser said the homosexuals in management at the store "constantly tried to lure him into arguments."
Hauser's claims to unfair treatment are supported by other former supervisors at Costco. One letter, from co-worker Jared Gilles who was also Hauser's former supervisor, dated August 4, 2004, said, "In my view, Dave was sunk before all this ever happened. Our management isn't open and objective towards him," Gilles explained. "They get hourly [employees] to write hearsay letters of certain instances - whether it's true or not and whether they are witnesses or not. Dave's guilty because he's blacklisted. People can just write letters about people they don't like and if management doesn't like you, you're in trouble. No one will support Dave's views, whether he's done something or not."
"He told me to watch out because this guy was after you from the day you walked in," Hauser added.
Events at Costco following Hauser's firing suggest that there was some problem with the supervisor who fired Hauser. Checko was demoted two weeks after Hauser's firing, "from a $120,000 per year position, to a checkout clerk," Hauser said.
On November 23, 2004, Human Resources Canada, after initially refusing Hauser's claim for employment insurance payments, responded to Hauser's appeal of the refusal. After HRC asked for clarification from Costco, a letter was returned that stated a different reason for Hauser dismissal that the one given on his dismissal letter.
"[Costco's] statement contradicts the letter of dismissal," stated L. Bell, an insurance benefit officer with HRC, in a letter in Hauser's possession. "In the letter of November 3, 2004, the employer states that the employee was dismissed because of an incident that occurred in August. The incident involved allegations of threats made by the claimant to a co-worker. The employer has not provided detail of the alleged incident."
"Given the lack of clarification from the employer, we'll conclude that the claimant was dismissed due to a series of minor incidents. Some of the incidents may have been genuine violations of company policy, but there is also a sense that there was some friction between the claimant and the employer. Fault is sometimes difficult to define, but it is often mutual. Clearly the employer was not happy with the claimant, and although the violations of company policy may or may not have been genuine, there is an indication that they were looking for reasons to terminate his employment. It is not even clear what the final incident was that ultimately led to the claimant's dismissal and therefore we cannot conclusively prove there was misconduct involved in the final incident. Under the circumstances, we have no choice but to allow the claim."
Hauser further explained that he "was fighting a 90-day demotion for allegedly driving a fork-lift at a guy's head," in June-August of 2004. "I should have been arrested for something like that," Hauser said. "I got three fellows to write statements who had seen the whole thing. I then went to the regional manager, Patrick Noon - Mike Checko's boss."
The suspension was over-ruled by Costco's regional office.
"The day I walked in [Checko] wanted me out," Hauser emphasized. "It went on and on - he treated me terribly. When Hauser went into work the day after the two women were told that they could not have the hall, Hauser says Checko ordered him to re-book the hall for then, stating, "Get those people back in there now!" In the end, claims Hauser, "he fired me for kicking them out [of the K of C hall]."
CAN'T FIND OTHER WORK WITH DISMISSAL ON RECORD - MAY LOSE HOME
Hauser said he had hoped his 14 years at Costco would lead to life-long employment. "The company is doing very well," he said. Because of the circumstances of his firing, Hauser has been unable to find other work. "It's hard to get a job when your reference letter says you were fired for violence in the workplace," he said. He has focused on home painting, something he did part-time to support his stay-at-home wife and three young children before. His business is called "Passion for Painting."
Hauser, who initially re-financed his mortgage after the job loss, faces the prospect of losing his home if nothing changes in the next few months. "It's pretty degrading and humiliating for Sandra and I . . . and all for that cause."
Michael A. Wagner, the lawyer representing Mike Checko, had his office call to say Checko was unable for comment.
Several calls put into Costco for comment were not returned. Calls placed to Costco's lawyers were also not returned.
To express concerns to Costco:
General Customer Service: 800-463-3783
E-mail address: service@costco.ca
Costco Canada Corporate Office
Mailing address: 415 West Hunt Club Road Ottawa, ON K2E 1C5
http://www.costco.ca/en-CA/CustomerService/EmailUs...
This sounds like lawsuit city.
It will only get MUCH WORSE if Our Legislature ever opens the doors wide for Homosexual "Special Rights"...
Just another case of gays discriminating against straights. A friend of mine was fired after a new gay boss was hired. She systematically fired or moved out all the Christians.
We already have with 'Hate Crimes' legislation.
OK. I want to hear all of the Wal Mart/Sam's Club bashers here on FR call for a boycott of Costco. What's worse? Someone getting fired because of their relgious beliefs with something that was not even close to company related? Or a company that is one of the most successful byproducts of capiitalism?
Tough choice?
And I'll bet she was crafty enough to arrange things so her rear was covered. Dicrimination based on religion is a civil rights violation, but it can be hard to prove.
I wonder if he can get a loan on the "unfair dismissal" lawsuit he is going to win?
The only problem I see here is that he is in Canada, and therefore might get put in jail for being so hateful.
Yes, that's what the fired employee is saying. His supervisor responds that he was terminated for workplace misconduct. These are tough cases to prove, so I hope this guy finds some other gainful employment. That may be best in the long run for his family.
Next time I'm close to any Publlic Event that has even a fistful of Queers....I'm gonna be CCW [Concealed-Carrying Weapon].
One of the women is named Tu Can Chu.
Word also has it that they practice a special diet, and were going to set up a special buffet for their friends at the reception...
They are vagitarians.
Costco's a ripoff, anyhow. It took my mother four years to realize she was losing money by buying bulk and chucking half of it when it didn't get consumed. It shouldn't be that difficult to stop going to Costco, but it really has a loyal following. Personally, I don't see the point in paying somebody for the right to spend my money at their store.
No special rights for behavior-based self-classifications. To paraphrase Mr. O, "It's not who you are, it's WHAT YOU DO."
I don't shop much at either... I was much happier when Wal Mart was all "Made in the USA." It may've been union labor, but at least it was *our* union labor.
On what grounds did the women win the lawsuit if the Knights is a private religious organization? Just wondering.
Don't know how it works in Canada, but if this were the US I think he would end up owning that particular COSTCO outlet as part of his settlement.
To those wanting to express outrage at Costco,don't write to the Canadian subsidiary,write to the world headquarters!
Welll sounds to me like COSCO management let the barbarians get control of this store, and this guy has a case that will cost the company Millions.
Seems to me a PURGE of this store is absolutely in order by Cosco upper management.
this is canada though don't they protect homosexuals.
Remember that this is Canada we're talking about and British Columbia to boot.My understanding is that BC makes San Francisco look like Salt Lake City when it comes to political correctness.
As some others have mentioned on here, the main factor was probably the "C" word-- Canada. I'm guessing on this next part, but the "lawsuit" could have been an administrative procedure before some sort of human rights commission or board, rather than a court. Such administrative groups are often more inclined to find "egregious" human rights violations, if you know what I mean.
Yeah, back to Sams.
The attempted rental sounds like a put-up job to me. Folks are always looking for a test case. Unfortunately, if the Knights are going to rent to hall publicly, I am sure there is some judge somewhere who will force them to do so for this.
There are people who want to stamp out any religious influence in this country. They want the Catholic Church to provide abortions and the Knights to facilitate homosexual marriage. To my mind, we need a court with conviction to establish the point that religious institutions cannot be required to do things they do not wish to do. The only other alternative for the Catholic Church is to withdraw from the World, and sell the hospitals, close the meeting halls, and restrict education to strictly religious instruction.
I posted the original story several weeks ago. The ruling was mixed. THere was no discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, under Canadian contract law, once a venue has been booked, if the reservation is cancelled, the venue has to pay for the event to be held somewhere else. The K of C had to pay $2K Cdn. as restitution to the women for having to have the event at another location. The part that shows this was a gay-agenda driven case is that the women are appealing the judgement. THey didn't wnat the $$$, they wanted a finding of discrimination based on sexual orientation and are appealing until they get that ruling.
I take back my "back to Sams" comment. It appears they are no better on this subject these days.
Apparently Walmart/Sams is getting pretty hot and heavy with the LGBT people these days, so you might not want to use this as your example. If fact they are having a pro-gay seminar at their home office in Ark. this very week.
Don't count on it. IIRC, Costco is run by a BIG TIME liberal. Seems like I remember reading somewhere that he and most of the upper management at Costco were big contributers to the DNC. I am sure someone has the necessary links to back this up.
From reading the article, it sounds to me like this was a setup from the beginning. I hope the guy gets another job and ends up owning a big chunk of Costco before it is all said and done.
I've seen this happen before, labor laws really suck in Canada because of unions. Had he not been unionized he'd have a much easier time getting through the bureaucracy. I'd say he's got a snowball's chance in hell unless he can get a good labor lawyer to help him out.
What was the purpose of that post?
Evidence to prove that you may unfit to CCW? Evidence for someone to use against you in the event you are involved in a shooting that leaves questions about your motivation to shoot?
If that were my post, I'd ask for it to be removed.
Lets see if I have this correct.
I thought the homosexual crowd just wanted to be assimilated into the general population.
To be treated fairly by those who detest their abnormal life style.
Give an inch to these perverted groups and they take a mile in tearing down anything traditional.
The good thing about renting the hall to lesbians is that you can book another rental immediately after their celebration is over...
because they're off lickety-split.
Can you fire someone because you don't like their politics? Seems pretty extreme to me, at least in this case. I'd be looking at the terms of my employment contract if I were this guy.
In most cases, yes. Here in Florida (an at will employment state) the boss can fire you for any reason, or no reason at all, unless you fall into a protected class of worker and the firing is because you are in that classs.
Calling the homosexual agenda a "Human Rights" agenda is an insult to anyone who has ever been tortured, raped or beaten by their government for political reasons.
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