[1980] OLRB Rep. December 1727
1803-80-R District Lodge 717, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Applicant, v. Canada Valve Limited, Respondent.
BEFORE: N. B. Satterfield, Vice-Chairman, and Board Members J. D. Bell and O. Hodges.
DECISION OF N. B. SATTERFIELD, VICE-CHAIRMAN, AND BOARD MEMBER J. D. BELL; December 10, 1980
This is an application filed pursuant to section 8 of The Labour Relations Act in which the applicant has requested that a pre-hearing representation vote be held. Having regard for the Board's discretion under section 8(2) to direct that a pre-hearing representation vote be held if the applicant appears to have the support of not less than thirty-five cent of employees in the voting constituency determined by the Board, and for the fact that all of the persons whom the applicant claims to represent have applied for membership in a trade union other than the applicant, the Board declines to direct that a pre-hearing representation vote be held.
In the result, the application is dismissed.
CONCURRING OPINION OF BOARD MEMBER O. HODGES:
The dismissal of this application follows the long established practice of the Board. In policy matters which appear to require revision the Board looks to future cases rather than the instant case. In my view the policy and practice with regard to the present case should be amended.
The present practice is to accept as evidence of union membership, application cards indicating membership in a local of the organization to which the local is affiliated, e.g., a national or international trade union, when the certification application to the Board is made in the name of the parent organization. Application cards made in the name of the parent organization only, without local identification are also acceptable when the application for certification is made in the name of the parent organization. However, when an application for certification is made in the name of a local, the application for membership cards must show the local identification corresponding to the name on the application for certification.
One reason for the practice followed is to ensure that the applicant for union membership may be certain of the organization that seeks to become his bargaining agent. As a general rule the Board has always required that membership evidence on its face relate to the applicant. See Canadian Home Products Ltd., 60 CLLC¶ 16,173.
In the present case the applicant for certification "District Lodge 717, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers" neglected to show "District Lodge 717" in the space provided for local identification on the printed application for membership cards. The printed cards are in the name of "International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers".
The procedures of the Board should be altered in my opinion, to provide an opportunity for the applicant for certification to amend the style of cause immediately upon the Board receiving the document and the application for membership cards and before any further processing of the application for certification. Thus no notice to the employer or to other interested parties nor any posting would be made until the application were amended. In the present case this could have been accomplished simply by striking out the words "District Lodge 717" on the application for certification form. Obviously the procedural change suggested here could avoid making a new application. The time of the Board in processing a second application would thus be saved. Clearly any delay for the trade union in the certification process must be avoided wherever possible.
The applicant in the present case must now make a new application in the name of "International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers" and reapply using the same application for membership cards. In the alternative, if the application is again filed in the name "District Lodge 717, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers", each application for membership card must have added, with the knowledge of the person who signed the card, the local identification "District Lodge 717", so that the cards are in the same name as the application for certification by the local union.
The circumstances of this case arise frequently enough to warrant the suggested alteration. The Board can and should do so forthwith.