City of Saskatoon says manager wasn't fired for calling staff 'my humans'

A City of Saskatoon supervisor says she was fired for using a gender-inclusive term, but the city argues this is not the case.

"After over 20 years of loyal service with the City of Saskatoon I was fired for being queer," Jackie Morley said at a Saskatchewan Federation of Labour news conference Thursday morning.

"I am shocked and saddened that the city has taken exception to my commitment to building an inclusive work environment by adopting a gender-neutral term."

Morley, who worked as a superintendent in the city's roads department, claims she was let go after refusing to stop using the term "humans" to refer to her co-workers.

"I was presented with a memo, which I was asked to sign, requesting for me to stop using the word human or humans when referring to human beings. I was very upset and refused to sign the memo," Morley said.

She claims that after seeking union advice she formally told the city she would not be signing the document.

Morley said she was then summoned to city hall the next morning and fired "without any explanation."

Morley also said she believes she was "targeted" due to her role as president of the Saskatoon Middle Managers Association, a union that represents some city workers.

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"We are the only bargaining unit at the City of Saskatoon where our members can be terminated without cause and without due process," she said.

"In recent months, the city has utilized [a contract clause] to terminate long-term employees without any cause."

According to Morley, the union's contract is set to expire on December 31.

"It is also not lost that the city has targeted our unit on the eve of our collective bargaining agreement expiring."

In an emailed statement, the city's chief human resources officer said while the city doesn't typically share details about a termination, it is concerned that "misinformation is being spread."

"Ms. Morley referred to her staff as 'my humans' (and) staff brought forward concerns. In response, the city did attempt to have her use alternate yet still inclusive language. But that was not the reason for her termination," Marno McInnes said.

"Ms. Morley’s employment was terminated because her leadership style was incompatible with the city’s values, was causing extensive workplace strife, and she refused to change her approach despite numerous attempts by her supervisors."

McInnes also pushed back against Morley's allegation that her union position played a role in her termination.

"These allegations are simply not true."

McInnes said although the city isn't "perfect", its "commitment to LGBQT2S+ staff is unwavering."

"Ms. Morley has full access to all the rights under the collective agreement to dispute this decision," McInnes said.

"The collective agreement has a grievance process and a dispute resolution process agreed to by the parties. This is the appropriate and fair forum in which to resolve this matter."