[1983] OLRB Rep. June 984
0448-83-R Canadian Union of Operating Engineers and General Workers, Applicant, v. The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London in Ontario operating St. Joseph Hospital at Sarnia, Ontario, Respondent
BEFORE: Corinne F. Murray, Vice-Chairman, and Board Members J. A. Ronson and H. Kobryn.
APPEARANCES: Ken Mvles for the applicant; D. J. McNamara and P J. Dusten for the respondent.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; June 23, 1983
This is an application for certification wherein the applicant sought to be certified as bargaining agent for all persons presently employed in the maintenance department of the respondent, save and except chief engineer. The proposed bargaining unit includes 9 employees whose classifications are carpenter, painter, maintenance helper, electrician, maintenance mechanic, maintenance co-ordinator. Notwithstanding the agreement of the respondent to the certification of this type of unit (differently described), the Board invited argument from the applicant as to why the Board's normal policy against "departmental" certification and in favour of a larger "service" employee unit should not be followed.
It is undisputed that the only group certified at the respondent is a bargaining unit of stationary engineers and/or maintenance engineers. The bargaining agent is the applicant. If the remaining service, non-medical unit were to be described in the Board's normal fashion, the number of employees would be somewhere in the order of 120 employees. The normal description of the appropriate service unit is:
All employees of ... save and except professional medical staff, graduate nursing staff, undergraduate nurses, graduate pharmacists, undergraduate pharmacists, graduate dietitians, student dietitians, social workers, social work assistants, persons engaged in research work, technical personnel (including in this exception, graduate and undergraduate: audiologists, physio-, occupational, psychiatric and speech therapists, psychologists, psychometrists, computer programmers, biomedical repair technicians, certified and non-certified dental assistants, photography technicians and artists-medical illustrators, registered, non-registered and student: laboratory technicians, X-ray technicians, respiratory technicians, electrocardiogram technicians, electroencephalogram technicians, pulmonary technicians, nuclear medicine technicians, ophthalmic technicians and laboratory assistants) supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, foremen, persons above the rank of foreman, chief engineer, office and clerical staff (including in this exception: ward clerks, admitting clerks, receptionists, safety and security officers, information clerks, mail clerks, cashiers, librarians and switchboard operators), security guards, persons regularly employed for not more than twenty-four hours per week and students employed during the school vacation period.
The applicant argued that it was bargaining agent for one unit similar to that applied for here. This is in a hospital in Windsor. Aside from this one instance, the type of workers encompassed within this application and represented by the applicant at other locations in Ontario fall into a unit of operating engineers and maintenance engineers. The respondent indicated that in other hospitals in Ontario other bargaining agents represented these type of workers who were part of a larger unit which included dietary staff, housekeeping staff, registered nursing assistants. This is reflective of the Board's normal policy as stated above.
The Board has maintained a policy that unnecessary fragmentation of the work place is to be avoided. The necessity of or lack of necessity of fragmentation turns on an assessment of the community of interest between groups of employees. The decisions are legion where the Board has determined the appropriate line to be drawn between bargaining units based upon an assessment of the community of interest. All of these decisions aim at setting out policies which encourage harmonious labour relations both on the long and short run. Over the years experience has taught us that harmony is most encouraged insofar as the hospital sector is concerned by drawing a large service unit, as set out above. There is nothing which the applicant has said which has convinced the Board this policy should not be followed in this case.
The applicant agreed that should the Board determine that the broader "service" unit was appropriate, its application for certification would fail. On that basis the Board dismisses the application.