The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) applied for certification to displace the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, Local 562, as the bargaining agent for sheet metal workers employed by Reitzel Heating & Sheet Metal Ltd. The central issue was the appropriate bargaining unit description in a displacement application where the incumbent held province-wide ICI bargaining rights but the applicant was not an affiliated bargaining agent.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board determined that CLAC could not acquire province-wide bargaining rights, nor was it required to take an 'all trades' unit.
The Board held that the appropriate bargaining unit was limited to sheet metal workers and apprentices in the ICI sector in Board Area 6, balancing the statutory scheme of province-wide bargaining with the employees' right to choose their bargaining agent.
