Certification application dismissed because the proposed bargaining unit of dependent contractors was inherently uncertain and unworkable.
The union applied for certification to represent a bargaining unit of dependent contractors engaged as wholesalers distributing the Toronto Sun.
The employer objected, arguing the wholesalers were independent contractors.
After a representation vote with unsegregated ballots, the union conceded that some voters were independent contractors, rendering the vote a nullity.
The Board found the union's proposed criteria for distinguishing between dependent and independent contractors to be inherently uncertain, subjective, and unworkable.
The Board dismissed the application for failing to define a readily ascertainable bargaining unit, but declined the employer's request to impose a one-year bar on future applications.
Teamsters Local Union 938 v. The Toronto Sun, a Division of Sun Media Corporation, 1999 CanLII 19950
