[1983] OLRB Rep. January 19
1805-82-R United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Local 18, Applicant, v. Beatty-Hall Construction Co. Limited, Respondent
BEFORE: Ian Springate, Vice-Chairman, and Board Members J. Wilson and C. A. Ballentine.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; January 19, 1983
This is an application for certification filed pursuant to the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act.
In support of the application the applicant filed membership evidence with respect to four individuals. The membership evidence consists of combination applications for membership and receipts indicating the payment of one dollar on account of initiation fees or monthly dues. The applicant also filed a document which is headed up "Form 80, Declaration Concerning Membership Documents Construction Industry". The document is not in fact the Form 80 prescribed by the regulations but rather appears to have been drawn up in the applicant's office. Although the document is similar in many respects to the prescribed Form 80, it does not contain paragraph 3 of the required form, which is the paragraph by which a union officer declares that on the basis of his personal knowledge and inquiries, the persons whose names appear on receipts for the payment of dues or initiation fees are the persons who actually collected the money indicated, and that each person on whose behalf a receipt was submitted personally paid the money.
In certification proceedings such as this, the Board must rely on documentary membership evidence which is not revealed to the employer or subjected to cross-examination. Because of this, the Board requires assurances from a responsible union official concerning the authenticity of the membership documents. Lacking such assurances in the form of a proper Form 80 (or Form 9 outside of the construction
industry) the Board's invariable practice is to refuse to give any weight to the membership evidence filed. See, Pietrangelo Masonry, [1981] OLRB Rep. Feb. 218.
- In the instant case, the applicant has failed to file a Form 80 containing the type of assurances referred to above. This being the case, we are of the view that the applicant has not filed any acceptable evidence of membership. The application is accordingly dismissed.