Marcel Jolie

In a jurisdictional dispute complaint between the Millwrights and the U.A. over work on a paper making machine, the parties sought a preliminary ruling on the geographic scope of area past practice evidence.

The Millwrights argued for limiting evidence to the local Board area, while the U.A. argued for province-wide evidence due to the specialized nature of the work.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled that while past practice is typically limited to the local Board area, the unique nature of the work and the overlapping territorial jurisdictions of the two local unions warranted an expanded scope.

The Board restricted the evidence to Board areas 17, 19, 21, 22, and the adjacent white area.

The complainant building trade unions alleged a violation of a consent access order by the respondents.

The respondents argued the order was spent.

The Board found a bona fide justification for the unions' continued need for access to the property to persuade employees to join, particularly given a competing certification application by the Steelworkers.

The Board declined to read a temporal limitation into the access order and declared it continued in effect until a vote is held or the certification applications are determined.