Jane Forbes-Roberts

The applicant trade union applied for certification.

The employer and a group of objecting employees opposed the application, filing a statement of desire signed by several employees who had previously signed union membership cards.

The Board found that the employer had engaged in actions, including changing a key union supporter's shifts and altering pay cheque distribution days, that would likely be viewed as a response to the union organizing campaign.

Furthermore, the involvement of an individual perceived as connected to management in the origination of the statement of desire led the Board to conclude that the statement did not represent a voluntary expression of the employees' wishes.

The Board declined to order a representation vote and certified the union.

The applicant union sought a declaration under section 1(4) of the Labour Relations Act that the municipal employer and its non-profit housing corporation were a single employer, effectively requesting the consolidation of two separate bargaining units.

The Board noted that section 1(4) was intended to protect established bargaining rights from being eroded by the creation of separate corporate entities, not to serve as a tool for consolidating existing bargaining units.

The Board found that the union was attempting to achieve through a section 1(4) application what it could not achieve at the bargaining table, and that granting the application would prejudice the employer.

The application was dismissed.