Larry Bishop

The applicant employer brought a preliminary motion alleging a reasonable apprehension of bias, arguing that the unexplained resignation of an employer representative in another case suggested a lack of adjudicative independence at the Tribunal.

The majority of the Tribunal dismissed the motion, finding that the circumstances were too attenuated and remote to raise a reasonable apprehension of bias, and that the Tribunal's history demonstrated independent decision-making.

The dissenting member would have found a reasonable apprehension of bias based on the institutional setting and the lack of explanation for the member's resignation.

The applicant union applied for certification of employees at seven of the respondent's bank branches in Metropolitan Toronto.

The union requested that the seven branches be consolidated into a single bargaining unit, while the employer argued that the only appropriate units were either individual branches or a single unit of all 37 branches in Metropolitan Toronto.

The Board reviewed the jurisprudence on bargaining unit appropriateness and fragmentation.

The Board concluded that the seven branches shared a sufficiently coherent community of interest to bargain together on a viable basis without causing serious labour relations problems for the employer.

The Board consolidated the seven branches into a single bargaining unit but maintained its practice of separating part-time and full-time employees.