M. Eayers

The applicant employers referred a grievance to the Ontario Labour Relations Board under section 124 of the Labour Relations Act, alleging that the respondent union and its members engaged in an unlawful strike.

The strike was triggered by a work assignment dispute and was instigated by a union job steward.

The Board found that the employees engaged in a concerted refusal to work, constituting an unlawful strike during the term of the collective agreement.

The Board held the union vicariously liable for the strike because it was instigated by its job steward, whose actions are considered union actions.

The Board awarded damages to the employers for costs directly attributable to the strike, including idle equipment and the cost of making up for the schedule delay.

The union filed a complaint alleging that the employer committed unfair labour practices by altering working conditions, disciplining union supporters, and failing to bargain in good faith during first contract negotiations.

The union claimed the employer retreated from earlier verbal wage offers in its subsequent written proposals.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissed the complaint, finding insufficient evidence of anti-union animus or unlawful alteration of working conditions.

Regarding the bad faith bargaining claim, the Board found that the union failed to prove the employer had made binding verbal offers from which it later retreated, attributing the misunderstanding to miscommunication and changes in the union's bargaining representatives.

A dissenting member would have found a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.