[1986] OLRB Rep. November 1577
1519-85-R International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada, Local 924, Stratford, Applicant, v. The Stratford Shakespearean Festival Foundation of Canada, Respondent
BEFORE: R. A. Furness, Vice-Chairman, and Board Members B. L. Armstrong and R. J. Gallivan.
APPEARANCES: T. W. G. Pratt, Debra Yundt and Eva Van der Spek for the applicant; Steven L. Moate, Christopher C. White and Peter S. Roberts for the respondent.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; October 31, 1986
The applicant has filed an application for certification in which it seeks to be certified for a bargaining unit of all theatrical wardrobe mistresses and wardrobe attendants (dressers) employed by the respondent in the City of Stratford. The respondent agreed with this description of the bargaining unit.
The applicant was advised prior to the hearings that it had not previously been found to be a trade union within the meaning of the Labour Relations Act. At the commencement of the hearings, the applicant adduced evidence with respect to its status as a trade union within the meaning of section l(l)(p) of the Act.
Debra Yundt gave evidence that the dressing staff became members of the applicant on August 23, 1984, when they collectively signed the application to charter a local trade union in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada ("IATSE"). On September 24, 1984, IATSE issued a charter document which, by its terms, granted to the dressing staff, who had signed the application, a charter to bear date October 1, 1984, as Local 924 at Stratford, Ontario, and to be known as "Theatrical Wardrobe Attendants". The applicant previously applied for certification before this Board. See The Stratford Shakespearean Festival Foundation of Canada, Board File No. 1646-84-R, an unreported decision dated December 4, 1984. In that earlier decision the Board dismissed the application for certification on the grounds that the applicant was not in existence when the application was filed and also because the evidence of membership which had been filed was with respect to an entity which was not specifically identified and not yet in existence. The instant application was filed after October 1, 1984, and the evidence of membership which has been filed indicates membership in the applicant during 1985. The problems which caused the Board to dismiss the first application in 1984 are not present in this application.
As was referred to earlier, the dressing staff of the three theatres at Stratford (the Festival Theatre, the Avon Theatre and the Third Stage) met together in August of 1984 for the purpose of discussing common problems and working conditions. They discovered that they were interested in forming a trade union for the dressing staff. On August 23, 1984, the dressers met with the president of IATSE Local 357 (the local trade union for stagehands at the three theatres at Stratford) and discussed the possibility of forming a trade union. The procedures for forming a trade union were considered. The president of Local 357 answered questions and was asked if the dressing staff could join Local 357. The president expressed the opinion that the dressing staff's work was substantially different from the stagehands' work and believed that Local 357 would have to alter its constitution and bylaws in order to admit the dressing staff into membership. The president expressed the view that it would be easier for the dressing staff to apply for a separate charter from IATSE. At this point the dressing staff each donated ten dollars and signed an application for a charter in IATSE.
The dressing staff were erroneously advised that a charter had been approved by IATSE in New York on September 21, 1984. The president and business representative of Local 357 and an international vice-president advised the dressing staff of the procedure for electing a temporary executive at that time. On September 24 and 25, 1984, the dressing staff considered the constitutions of IATSE and IATSE Local 890 (the wardrobe attendants local union in Ottawa). From these constitutions the dressing staff derived a constitution which was applicable to their situation. A committee of the dressing staff completed a draft constitution which was presented to a general meeting of the membership on September 29, 1984. The draft constitution was read through clause by clause. There was then a question and answer period and the constitution of the applicant was adopted by a vote. The next meeting was held on October 5, 1984, when formal elections were held and an executive was elected. This meeting was attended by all of the members of the applicant, that is to say, all of the charter members of the applicant. Membership cards were issued to the charter members of the applicant and confirmed at the meeting on October 5, 1984, pursuant to the constitution.
Article 3, section 2 of the constitution provides that any person applying for membership, unless waived by the International for proper cause upon application by the local, must have been a resident for at least eighteen months preceding her application within its jurisdiction. The evidence before the Board established that the jurisdiction of the applicant is the City of Stratford and that the residency requirements have been and will continue to be waived by the applicant. The evidence also established that there is an established practice of admitting persons to membership without regard to such a provision in the constitution of the applicant within the meaning of section 103(4) of the Act. In these circumstances the Board need not have regard for such eligibility requirements in the constitution. While the constitution of the applicant refers to the female gender, the evidence established that the applicant admits persons to membership regardless of sex and has previously had a male member. The Board finds that the applicant does not discriminate in its membership with respect to sex. The Board further finds that the applicant and its members at its meeting on October 5, 1984, ratified their membership and the election of officers pursuant to the constitution. The Board finds that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of section l(l)(p) of the Act.
The respondent is presently a party to several agreements with respect to its three theatres in Stratford. There is a collective agreement with Local 220 of the Service Employees International Union which covers "all employees of [the respondent] at Stratford, engaged in maintenance of the buildings and grounds and plant operations, save and except foremen, persons above the rank of foreman and supervisors, office and sales staff, students employed during the school vacation period and employees covered by existing collective agreements between [the respondent] and other trade unions". An agreement between the respondent and the Stratford Musicians' Association, Local 418, of The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada covers 'all musicians engaged by [the respondent] for the purpose of collective bargaining' and further provides that the term musician includes all performers of musical instruments of any kind, or other individuals who render musical services other than composers, vocalists, and individuals speaking as well as performing musical services in a dramatic production. The agreement also contains a form contract for the personal services of musicians. A collective agreement between the respondent and Kitchener Local No. 357 of IATSE covers 'all union personnel employed by [the respondent] in the area of IATSE jurisdiction.... [The respondent] further agrees to recognize a stagehand Local formed by the splitting of Local 357 into two Locals'. The jurisdiction of IATSE is set forth in Article III of the collective agreement. Article III provides, in part:
3.01 Those employed by the Festival and as supplied by the Union as per Article 2.01 shall perform exclusively all functions necessary to the taking in, setting up, taking down, putting out and changing over as well as the working of all stage presentations and/or dress and technical rehearsals. It is agreed that all construction, installation, operation, alteration and maintenance of stage equipment including, but not limited to scenery, drapes, picture sheets, lighting, sound, projection, special effects created by whatever method, shall be performed by members of the Union. This shall include construction of lighting effects including but not limited to gobos, effects wheels and strobes.
Union members shall also perform all work pertaining to the initial setting of orchestra stands and chairs for dress and technical rehearsals and/or performances, as well as the electrical maintenance as follows:
Festival Theatre
Rehearsal Hall - stage lighting
Auditorium - all dimmed lights
Dressing Rooms - as required
Avon Theatre
Auditorium - all dimmed lights
Dressing Rooms - all lights, including halls and corridors.
The respondent is also bound by an agreement between The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres ("PACT") and Canadian Actors' Equity Association ("CAEA"). In the agreement PACT has agreed to recognize CAEA as the exclusive bargaining representative of "all the Artists engaged by its members for the purpose of collective bargaining and the administration and interpretation on their behalf of matters within the scope of this Agreement and Rules". The agreement further provides that "the term 'Artist' as used in this Agreement and Rules shall include all members of Canadian Actors' Equity Association; Actors; Production Stage Managers; Stage Managers; Assistant Stage Managers; Directors; Choreographers". The respondent is also bound by written agreements which may or may not be collective agreements with the Properties Department Association which covers the painting, welding and upholstery of properties and also between PACT and the Associated Designers of Canada ("ADC") which covers and provides a standard contract with arbitration provisions for designers. An attempt to organize the office and clerical workers was dismissed by the Board in 1984 due to insufficient membership. This outline of the respondent's present collective bargaining relationship indicates that, apart from its maintenance employees, the respondent's bargaining relationships are exclusively with respect to craft bargaining units.
The accompanying flow chart (Appendix "A") indicates the lines of supervision and shows the interrelationship between the various areas of the respondent's operations, union jurisdiction and the relationship of the dressing staff to the respondent's organized and unorganized employees.
The wardrobe mistresses and wardrobe attendants (dressers) essentially serve the performers. The season commences in late April and ends in October. The other employees who are not represented are concentrated at different times of the year. In the resident cutter column there are approximately eleven cutters and twelve first hands who are assistants to the cutters. There are twelve sewers in teams of four. They work after the material is cut and are called seamstresses and work on the basic items in the wardrobe. They tend to be an older group of skilled employees who work as seamstresses from year to year. They are not present in the same area as the dressing staff and have a different season for their work. The cutters, first hands and sewers generally work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday to Friday from January until early August and work in a shop on the first floor of the Festival Building. The dressing staff, on the other hand, work at each of the three theatres. The sewers report to the cutters who, in turn, report to the resident cutter. The dressing staff exercise different skills and many of them have come from schools which have theatre programmes. Historically, the dressing staff tend to go on to other areas of the theatre business. The sewers, cutters and first hands tend to work for the respondent year after year and live in the Stratford area.
The respondent's job description for wardrobe mistress reads as follows:
POSITION: WARDROBE MISTRESS
FUNCTION:
To organize and maintain in the best possible condition all costumes delivered into her care for productions in the Festival Theatre and to supervise the work of the dressers on her staff.
ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Reports to the Wardrobe Manager.
DUTIE5 AND RESPONSIBILITIES shall include but not be limited to the following:
To review the Costume Plot with the Assistant Designer or Wardrobe Manager in order to become familiar with each costume that each artist is to wear, to identify and plan for quick changes, and to specify maintenance requirements.
To familiarize herself with the costumes being prepared for each production prior to the dress rehearsal and to discuss with cutters any special requirements regarding laundering and general maintenance for individual shows. To attend rehearsal if necessary to understand particular requirements.
To assist the designers and Wardrobe Manager in the preparation, organization and execution of photo calls and dress rehearsals.
To supervise the preparation of appropriate quick change facilities.
To discuss with the Wardrobe Manager the number and assignment of dressers; to inform dressers of theatre rules and policies related to backstage discipline and conduct with the artists; to ensure that dressers understand and adhere to costume plots, dresser sheets and other appropriate information; to train all dressers in the proper care and maintenance of the costumes; to act as head dresser during performances.
To be responsible for the repair, maintenance, cleaning, laundering, upkeep and organization of all costumes through the run of the production; to uphold high standards to the satisfaction of the Wardrobe Manager and Head of Design in keeping the production looking fresh and in the condition in which she received it.
To maintain dresser timesheets and be responsible for delivering these to the Wardrobe Manager.
To be present at all performances and dress rehearsals, as agreed with the Wardrobe Manager, at the hour prior to curtain and continuously through the performance until all dressers have finished their work period.
To supervise the closing of productions at the Festival Theatre and to help co-ordinate the storage of costumes and accessories for said productions.
The job of dresser consists of assisting performers in putting on and taking off costumes. They are involved in running maintenance and repairs of costumes. The key skill is the ability to work compatibly with the actors and to be familiar with the performance and the costume plot. While most of the dressers are females, from time to time there are male dressers and some actors request a male dresser. The dressers are distributed among the three theatres with eight at the Festival Theatre, eight at the Avon Theatre and two at the Third Stage Theatre. The average length of work for the dressing staff is about five hours for each performance. In a typical week there might be a combination of five evenings and two matinee performances. There is one wardrobe mistress for each theatre. While the primary interaction is with the actors, there is some incidental interaction with the crew who put on the performance. There is no promotion path per se and there is no real interchange with the other classifications on the flow chart. The dressing staff tend to be a self-contained group. While none of the present dressers are in this category, some dressers have moved into areas of interest in stage management and others have entered teaching or become actors, actresses and writers. The wardrobe mistress may be thought of as generally equivalent to a lead hand in that she gives directions and apportion work to the dressers. In addition, the wardrobe mistress selects and matches dressers with actors and actresses.
The dressing staff are paid on an hourly basis with overtime after forty hours each week. They receive the minimum statutory benefits plus half of OHIP after ninety days. They receive hourly rates between $5.50 and $6.25, while seamstresses receive hourly rates between $6.00 and $8.00 per hour. The first level of management is the head of wardrobe who would be excluded from the proposed bargaining unit. The wardrobe mistress exercises functions analogous to a lead hand and is included in the proposed bargaining unit.
It is helpful to compare the work of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit with the work performed by the respondent's employees in the areas indicated on the flow chart under the headings entitled "Millinery", "Resident Cutter", "Prop Builder" and "Wig Builders and Maintenance".
The employees who work under the heading of millinery possess very specific skills in producing a costume. The millinery section works on hats. The jewellery section works on stage jewellery, spectacles and watches. The dyer is the first person to work on fabrics which have been purchased for costumes. The dyer changes the colour of the fabric to the designer's specifications. The painters and breakdown section make very specific additions of patterns to fabric and also add sweat marks and dirt to give costumes a lived in look. The boots and shoes section modifies footwear for actors and is responsible for gloves, gauntlets, belts and weapons' carriers. The decoration section makes surface additions to the costume. This may involve embroidery, sequins, fringes and items of a similar nature. The work of this section commences in early December, which is about a month and a half before the actors start rehearsals, and continues until the opening of the last production. Historically, the last production opens in early August. The majority of the productions open in late May and June. Thereafter there is a reduction in staff commensurate with the opening of later productions. The employees in these sections work eight hours a day from Monday to Friday, and, depending on the point in the process, there may be overtime on Saturdays and Sundays. They are located on the first floor of the Festival Theatre in adjacent suites of rooms joined by corridors and are in the same location as the sewers. While the employees in the millinery section report to the head of wardrobe, they are given specific directions by the designers of production. These employees have the opportunity for continuity of employment from year to year subject only to their interest and availability. There is very little opportunity for interchange for relief work or for promotion in these categories. The employees work in their craft and wish to be recognized for their craft. The lead person in each category is on a guaranteed salary.
In the area of work headed by the resident cutter, the cutters draft patterns and choose fabric weights after interpreting sketches by the designers. There are usually three fittings for each costume which an actor wears. The cutter is closely involved with the fitting of each costume. The first hand is the most experienced sewer and works under the cutters' direction. The first hands in turn lead the sewers in the sewing of the costumes. It is possible, depending on initiative and interest, to progress from sewer to first hand to cutter.
The employees who are engaged as wig builders and in wig maintenance are under the supervision of the heads of wigs. The head of wigs at the Festival Theater works there and is paid on an annual basis. The head of wigs at the Avon Theatre works there and is employed on a seasonal basis. The persons engaged in wig building and wig maintenance start in January of each year about a month prior to the commencement of rehearsals. They are engaged in the creation of new and the modification of existing wigs, facial hair and special requirements for prosthesis and contours of the face. The wigs are made with a specific actor in mind and are made from lace and human hair. The wig maintainer is in attendance on the actor at virtually the same time as the dresser and maintains the wig and assists the actor in affixing and removing the wig and with the accompanying application and removal of the spirit gum. There are a total of five employees in this section. These employees continue with their work until the final performances in mid-November and their total annual employment is about ten months. They are physically located adjacent to the dressing rooms in the Festival Theatre and on the second floor at the Avon Theatre. The three persons engaged in wig building and maintenance are salaried. They receive dress rehearsal and opening week bonuses because these are times of long hours and stress. Their salaries range between $250.00 and $600.00 a week and they normally work from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the pre-season. However, once the dress rehearsals and performances start, they are in the theatres two to four hours daily before the performance commences in order to work on wig maintenance. In the case of productions which are in rehearsal and open later in the season, the wig builder will rebuild and maintain wigs.
The employees who work under the heading of prop builders constitute a group of employees numbering between twelve and fifteen, depending on the time of year. They commence work in the beginning of January and their numbers fluctuate until late July or early August at the time of the last opening performance when their employment ceases for the season. They normally work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday, receive a guaranteed salary based upon an hourly rate and also receive overtime after forty hours each week. They have their shop on the ground floor of the Festival Theatre and report to the head of props. Their work consists of constructing virtually all movable properties, including scenery, fibreglass armour, household furnishings and draperies. The stage carpenters make the furniture and architecture and the prop builders paint or stain it. The prop buyer purchases materials and items for the property department under the supervision of the heads of props. The prop buyer works the same period of time as the prop builders. The prop builders function as an informal bargaining unit and elect a spokesman who negotiates with the production manager Miss Blake for rates of pay.
Across Canada five theatres have a standard agreement with CAEA together with a separate engagement contract with each actor. In the larger centres such as Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto, producing theatres have collective agreements with IATSE covering stagehands. Travelling crews may work locally and require permission from the International Union in New York to work on travelling productions. In order to work on a travelling production a member must have been a member of the local trade union at the point of origin for two years. The member is engaged by the producer on a contract written on pink paper which stipulates the dates on which commencement and final dates for the work. The contract spells out the salary to be received, the per diem expenses and various other conditions of employment. The contract must be carried at all times and produced if asked. The head carpenter on the touring attraction at the point of origin and the business agent of the local at the point of origin determine the size of the travelling crew and the number of men required to unload, move into the theatre and set up the scenery, lights and other properties within a given time span. The head carpenter and the business agent also determine the number of persons required to operate the equipment on stage. The latter group is generally smaller than the first group. All of this information is recorded and transmitted on a yellow card to each business agent at each location where the touring attraction is to perform. In each case, the requirement for wardrobe mistress/dresser is listed on the yellow card. The supply and availability of wardrobe mistress/dressers varies across the country. In Vancouver the standard collective agreement of IATSE Local 118 covers stagehands and 'head wardrobe' and 'dressers'. In Saskatoon there is not a separate local for wardrobe mistress/dressers and, if requested, the local business agent will do his best to supply wardrobe mistress/dressers.
Theatres may generally be divided into those which produce shows and those theatres which provide a place for presenting shows which have originated at another theatre. Such theatres are known as producing theatres and presenting theatres, respectively. Some theatres may be both producing and presenting theatres. In Winnipeg the Manitoba Theatre Centre is a producing and presenting facility and has a collective agreement with an IATSE local union which covers both stagehands and wardrobe mistress/dressers. Other presenting facilities in Winnipeg operate under similar circumstances. In London the Grand Theatre is a producing and presenting theatre and a party to a collective agreement with IATSE Local 105 covering stagehands and not covering wardrobe mistress/dressers. On the other hand, a collective agreement between IATSE Local 105 and Centennial Hall includes the category "wardrobe". When touring shows perform in London, IATSE Local 105 will respond to the requirements of the touring shows and provide wardrobe mistress/dressers. The Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake has a collective agreement with the IATSE Local 461 in St. Catharines for stagehands. "Wardrobe" is specifically excluded from that collective agreement. In Hamilton there is a presenting facility known as Hamilton Place where the stagehands are covered by a collective agreement with IATSE Local 129 which includes the categories of "wardrobe mistress/master, assistant wardrobe mistress/master and dresser".
At the National Arts Centre Corporation in Ottawa, IATSE Local 890 has a collective agreement with that corporation which covers "all persons supplied by the union to work as wardrobe attendants and wardrobe mistresses in the wardrobe department". The classifications covered by this collective agreement are wardrobe mistress (master), wardrobe attendant, apprentice member and permit worker and appears to cover nine employees. There are nineteen members in that local union. In Montreal, IATSE Local 863 has collective agreements with La Place des Arts and the Forum "pour les purposes aux costumes" and "pour tous les habilleu(ses)rs", respectively. In Toronto, IATSE Theatrical Wardrobe Attendants Union, Local 822 has collective agreements with Maple Leaf Gardens and the Board of Management of The O'Keefe Centre for "all wardrobe employees". These collective agreements cover wardrobe head, assistant wardrobe head and dressers. In Charlottetown, the IATSE Local trade union is a mixed local and provides stagehands and wardrobe mistress/dressers under one collective agreement. In St. John's and Cornerbrook in Newfoundland, the two IATSE local unions are mixed locals and will provide wardrobe attendants/dressers on an ad hoc basis when requested.
In Halifax, Dalhousie University is a major presenter of productions. There is not a collective agreement between the University and IATSE. However, the University honours the yellow card formula, referred to earlier, and there is co-operation between the IATSE local union in Halifax and the University's staff. The local trade union supplies a union stagehand and within its ability provides the requirements set forth in the yellow card. The staff of the University operates the University's equipment. The Neptune Theatre in Halifax does not have a working agreement with the Halifax local union of IATSE. In Fredericton, the producing theatre there does not have a collective agreement with the mixed IATSE local trade union which does, however, service touring companies.
The situation in the Unites States mirrors and magnifies the situation in Canada with wardrobe mistress/dressers being represented in mixed locals, or, where members and interest warrant, separate local unions have been established. While most of IATSE's local unions are for projectionists and stage employees, IATSE has extended its jurisdiction beyond stage employees and moving picture projectionists. IATSE has, since its establishment in 1893, moved beyond the jurisdiction described in its name to include specialized locals such as the theatrical wardrobe local. In addition, the chartered locals of IATSE cover specialized locals such as publicists; motion picture studio cartoonists; script supervisors; and story analysts on the one hand to ball park ticket sellers; admissions and mutual ticket sellers; back room and film exchange employees; and first aid employees on the other hand.
From 1942 to the present, the following theatrical wardrobe unions have been chartered by IATSE:
719 Denver
747 Columbus
764 New York
768 Los Angeles
769 Chicago
772 Washington
775 Boston
777 Milwaukee
781 Minneapolis - St. Paul
783 Buffalo
784 San Francisco
786 Detroit
787 Pittsburgh
799 Philadelphia
803 Dallas
805 St. Louis
810 Kansas City
822Toronto
825 Memphis
830 Providence
831 Omaha
840 New Orleans
853 Miami
858 Rochester
859 Atlanta
863Montreal
864 Cincinnati
869 Albuquerque
874 Sacramento
875 Phoenix
883 Cleveland
886 Daytona
887 Seattle
890 Ottawa
893 Indianopolis - Bloomington
894 Knoxville
895 Atlantic City
896 Houston
897 Louisville
899 Jacksonville
904 Tulsa
905 San Diego
908 Red Bank - Freehold
910 Norfolk
912 Akron - Canton
913 Baltimore
915 Nashville
924Stratford.
- The applicant is seeking certification with respect to a craft bargaining unit. The circumstances under which craft bargaining units are deemed to be appropriate are set forth in section 6(3) which states:
Any group of employees who exercise technical skills or who are members of a craft by reason of which they are distinguishable from the other employees and commonly bargain separately and apart from other employees through a trade union that according to established trade union practice pertains to such skills or crafts shall be deemed by the Board to be a unit appropriate for collective bargaining if the application is made by a trade union pertaining to such skills or craft, and the Board may include in such unit persons who according to established trade union practice are commonly associated in their work and bargaining with such group, but the Board shall not be required to apply this subsection where the group of employees is included in a bargaining unit represented by another bargaining agent at the time the application is made.
There are three conditions to be met in order for the craft bargaining unit to be appropriate. As the Board stated in Art Wire & Iron Co. Ltd., 54 CLLC ¶ 17,080, each of the following conditions has to be satisfied:
(1) the group of employees concerned exercise technical skills or are members of a craft by reason of which they are distinguishable from other employees;
(2) the group of employees concerned commonly bargain separately and apart from the other employees through a trade union that, according to established trade union practice, pertains to such skills or craft; and
(3) the application for certification is made by a trade union pertaining to such skills.
- The employees who are affected by this application exercise technical skills and are members of a craft which distinguishes them from other employees. They are required to have a knowledge of the productions which are being performed and to work closely with the actors. They are responsible for the handling and repairing of a considerable number of costumes and are required to have the skill to make repairs on these costumes. Their skills are quite different from the skills exercised by those employees who work in the millinery, cutting and sewing and prop building, and wig builders and maintenance sections of the respondent's operations. The employees who are affected by this application are physically separated from these other employees and are employed for different periods of the production year. There was no evidence before the Board that the employees who work in the millinery, cutting and sewing and wig building and repair sections are represented in collective bargaining in Canada or the United States. The nature of the technical skills of the employees affected by this application may not be strikingly apparent. The skills exercised by dressing staff are subtle and, as yet, there are no formal apprenticeship requirements. The Board commented on the nature and significance of the technical skills exercised by employees in Harbourfront Corporation, [1982] OLRB Rep. Nov. 1624 and stated at page 1634:
the board has often stated that the nature of the technical skills exercised, while an important factor, is not the governing factor, and, that the extent or degree of exercise of the technical skills is not determinative, provided such technical skills are sufficiently used to distinguish the jobs from others. See Cooper and Bearty Limited, 58 CLLC ¶ 18,100; and Commercial Papers Limited, [1969] OLRB Rep. Nov. 939.
A formal apprenticeship programme is usually associated with a craft. However, the absence of a formal apprenticeship programme has never been fatal to the recognition of a craft bargaining unit by this Board. This is the situation with respect to hotel beverage room waiters, bartenders and tapmen which is a craft bargaining unit recognized by the Board.
In Kidd Creek Mines Ltd., [1984] OLRB Rep. March 481, the Board determined that a proposed bargaining unit of maintenance electricians in a mining/industrial facility was not a craft bargaining unit within the meaning of section 6(3). The Board specifically stated that a local trade union of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had not met the second condition set forth in section 6(3). In the instant application, and unlike the situation in Kidd Creek Mines Ltd., the Board is being asked to formally recognize a craft bargaining unit that has been in existence for more than forty years. The Board is not being asked to create a craft bargaining unit where none has previously existed. The Board notes that the instant application for certification arises within the entertainment industry which has historically been, and continues to be, organized according to craft. This in turn has led to the evolution of craft bargaining units which have usually been the outgrowth of voluntary recognition.
There is evidence before the Board that wardrobe mistress/dressers may be unorganized, represented as part of a larger bargaining unit or represented separately by a theatrical wardrobe attendants' local trade union chartered by IATSE. There are now four theatrical wardrobe attendants local trade unions in Canada and three of those four local trade unions have five collective agreements. There are considerably more theatrical wardrobe attendants local trade unions in the United States with a correspondingly greater number of collective agreements. The opportunities for seasonal employment for wardrobe mistress/dressers are limited in Canada to the cities which support producing companies. Presenting companies obtain wardrobe mistress/dressers from the local trade unions when such employees are available through the use of the yellow card system. It appears that the degree of organization of wardrobe mistress/dressers and their separateness in their own bargaining units is a function of their numbers and continuity of employment in one location. There are a comparatively small number of wardrobe mistress/dressers in Canada. For example, the Stratford, which is by far the largest producing theatre in Canada, had in 1985 some 450,000 paid admissions and employed a maximum of twenty wardrobe mistress/dressers. Where numbers permit, wardrobe mistress/dressers commonly bargain separately (though not exclusively) through a trade union that, according to established trade union practice, pertains to the skills or craft of wardrobe mistress/dresser. This application has also been made by a chartered local trade union of IATSE which pertains to the skills of wardrobe mistress/dressers. The Board finds that the three conditions referred to in section 6(3) have been satisfied.
Having regard to the foregoing and pursuant to section 6(3) of the Act, the Board finds that all theatrical wardrobe mistresses/masters and wardrobe attendants/dressers in the employ of the respondent in Stratford, save and except head of wardrobe and persons above the rank of head of wardrobe, constitute a unit of employees of the respondent appropriate for collective bargaining.
The Board is satisfied on the basis of all the evidence before it that more than fifty-five per cent of the employees of the respondent in the bargaining unit, at the time the application was made, were members of the applicant on September 30, 1985, the terminal date fixed for this application and the date which the Board determines, under section 103(2)(j) of the Labour Relations Act, to be the time for the purpose of ascertaining membership under section 7(1) of the said Act.
A certificate will issue to the applicant.