M. Rozenberg

In an application for certification, a group of employees sought to raise allegations of impropriety regarding the union's collection of membership evidence.

The allegations were not filed by the terminal date as required by the Board's Rules of Procedure.

The Board found that the employees failed to comply with the rules for timely filing.

However, because the Board decided to conduct its own inquiry into a separate 'non-pay' allegation involving a membership card, a further hearing was required anyway.

Since entertaining the late allegations would not cause any significant additional delay, the Board exercised its discretion to allow the employees to introduce evidence of the alleged improprieties at the upcoming hearing.

The applicant union referred two grievances to the Ontario Labour Relations Board under section 124 of the Labour Relations Act, alleging the respondent employer failed to apply the provincial ICI agreement to construction projects in Cambridge.

The employer argued it was only bound by a local multi-sector formwork agreement in the London area.

The Board found that the local formwork agreement, insofar as it purported to apply to the ICI sector, was null and void under section 146(2) of the Act.

Consequently, the local agreement did not create provincial ICI bargaining rights that the applicant could rely upon.

The grievances were dismissed.

The complainant union filed multiple unfair labour practice complaints alleging that the respondent employer violated the statutory freeze and discriminated against employees for their union support during a displacement organizing drive.

The respondent employer raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the Board should defer the complaints to the grievance and arbitration process under the existing collective agreement with the incumbent union.

The Board dismissed the preliminary objection, declining to defer to arbitration because the complaints involved significant statutory rights, the complainant was not a party to the collective agreement, and the remedies available at arbitration might be inadequate.

The applicant faculty association applied for certification to represent full-time faculty and professional librarians at Wilfrid Laurier University.

The Board found that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of section 1(1)(p) of the Labour Relations Act.

The Board also determined that the applicant's constitution and bylaws gave it the capacity to represent professional librarians, despite a history of not doing so.

The Board certified the applicant on an interim basis for a bargaining unit of full-time faculty, pending a final determination by a Board Officer regarding the inclusion of professional librarians and other disputed classifications.