Labourers' International Union of North America, Ontario Provincial District Council v. 799316 Ontario Inc. c.o.b. as Concrete Systems
[1990] OLRB Rep. March 229
0758-89-R Labourers' International Union of North America, Ontario Provincial District Council, Applicant v. 799316 Ontario Inc. c.o.b. as Concrete Systems, Respondent
BEFORE: N. B. Satterfield, Vice-Chair, and Board Members W. Gibson and C. A. Ballentine.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; March 13, 1990
1The Board issued a decision dated July 18, 1989 certifying the applicant as the exclusive bargaining agent for all construction labourers in the employ of the respondent in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and all construction labourers in the employ of the respondent in all other sectors in the County of Lamb-ton, save and except non-working foremen and persons above the rank of non-working foreman. Two certificates were issued to the applicant pursuant to section 144(2) of the Labour Relations Act, one for construction labourers employed by the respondent in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and another in respect of all construction labourers employed by the respondent in all sectors of the construction industry in the County of Lambton, excluding the industrial, commercial and institutional sector.
2The Board's decision contains a declaration that, for purposes of clarity, employees of the respondent engaged in cement finishing work are included in the bargaining unit which the Board found to be appropriate for collective bargaining purposes. That clarity note does not form part of either certificate issued to the applicant. The applicant has asked the Board to reconsider its decision pursuant to its discretion under subsection 106(1) of the Act and, to the extent necessary, vary the two certificates so that each includes the clarity note.
3A clarity note is a device used by the Board at its discretion in circumstances where the Board believes it will assist the parties to avoid or resolve conflicts about whether particular employees are included in or excluded from the unit. A clarity note is not part of the description of the unit and does not in any way alter or affect the description of the unit. To put it another way, the clarity note speaks to whether particular employees of the respondent are employed at jobs which fall within the scope of the bargaining unit description.
4Each certificate issued to the applicant contains the following statement:
This certificate is to be read subject to the terms of the Board's decision(s) in this matter and, accordingly, the bargaining unit described herein is to be read subject to any qualifications referred to in the said decision(s) of the Board.
In the Board's view, this paragraph makes it clear that either certificate must be read subject to, amongst other things, the clarity note in the decision which gave rise to the certificates being issued to the applicant. Therefore, no useful purpose would be served by amending the certificates to include the clarity note. Accordingly, the Board declines to reconsider and vary its decision which issued July 18, 1989.