25 total
Board finds 25 form setters performed traditional carpenter's work and belong in the proposed bargaining unit.
The applicant union applied for certification for a bargaining unit of carpenters and carpenters' apprentices.
The respondent employer and intervener union argued that the employees in question were 'form setters' or labourers covered by an existing collective agreement, not carpenters.
The Board examined the work performed by the 25 individuals in dispute and concluded that they were all performing traditional carpenter's work on a substantial and continuous basis.
Consequently, the Board determined that all 25 employees fell within the applicant's proposed bargaining unit.
Successor employer application dismissed; acquisition of lease and equipment after 18-month closure not a sale of business.
The applicant union sought a declaration that the respondent was a successor employer under section 63 of the Labour Relations Act.
The respondent had acquired an assignment of a lease and purchased some equipment from a Dominion store that had been closed for a year and a half.
The Board found that due to the long hiatus between the closure of the predecessor and the opening of the respondent's business, any goodwill had dissipated.
The transaction was characterized as a mere transfer of surplus assets rather than the sale of a business.
The application was dismissed.
Individual employees have status to bring an unfair labour practice complaint against their employer without union support.
Sixteen employees filed an unfair labour practice complaint against their employer, Dufferin Aggregates, alleging that the employer was attempting to destroy the union by assigning work to another company.
The union declined to join the complaint.
The employer raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the employees lacked status to bring the complaint without the union's support and that the Board should defer to arbitration.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissed the preliminary objection, holding that individual employees have status to bring a complaint under section 66(a) of the Labour Relations Act to protect their individual rights, even without union support.
The Board also declined to defer to arbitration, as the complaint alleged a breach of the Act rather than merely a violation of the collective agreement.
Representation vote ordered where union failed to commence bargaining for over two years after certification.
The applicant employer applied under section 59 of the Labour Relations Act for a declaration that the respondent union no longer represented its employees, alleging a failure to bargain.
The union had been certified in November 1979 and sent a notice to bargain, but failed to follow up or commence bargaining for over two years.
The union argued the application was untimely because it had recently requested the appointment of a conciliation officer.
The Board found the application timely as no officer had yet been appointed when it was filed.
Given the union's prolonged inactivity without justifiable reason, the Board ordered a representation vote to determine if the employees still wished to be represented by the union.
Grievance dismissed; union steward's discharge upheld as safety complaint was found to be a false pretext.
The applicant union referred a grievance to the Ontario Labour Relations Board alleging that the respondent employer unjustly discharged a union steward.
The union argued the discharge violated the provincial agreement and section 24(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, claiming the steward was fired for raising safety concerns about propane fumes.
The Board dismissed the grievance, finding that the steward's conduct was not motivated by genuine health and safety concerns, but rather by a desire to disrupt the job site using a false safety claim.
The Board concluded the employer had just cause for the discharge.
