Ontario Labour Relations Board
[1999] OLRB REP. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 88
0464-98-PS South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Applicant v. Service Employees International Union, Local 220, Service Employees' International Union, Local 210, Ontario Nurses' Association and Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Responding Parties
Bargaining Unit - Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act - Board ruling that bargaining units at successor hospital should not be site specific, but rather should span all four predecessor hospitals - Parties subsequently agreeing on number and description of bargaining units appropriate for successor hospital's operations
BEFORE: Laura Trachuk, Vice-Chair.
APPEARANCES: Barry Brown and Dave Duncan for the applicant; E.R. Durham, Ray Drouillard, Carol Demers, Cathy Ryan and Joan McIntyre for SEIU Local 210; Pauline Lefebvre-Hinton and Lorraine Robertson for Ontario Nurses' Association; Ian Fellows, Robert Buchanan, Gwen Gould, Wendy Uhlig and Barbara Fleming for SEIU Local 220; Richard Blair and Connie Huziak for OPSEU.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; January 6, 1999
1The style of cause is hereby amended to reflect the correct name of the responding party to Service Employees International Union, Local 220.
2This is an application under sections 22 and 23 of the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 from the South Bruce Grey Health Centre (referred to as the "hospital"). The application seeks a determination from the Board with respect to the number and descriptions of the bargaining units.
3The South Bruce Grey Health Centre is the result of the amalgamation of four predecessor hospitals, Durham Memorial Hospital, County of Bruce General Hospital, Kincardine and District General Hospital and the Chesley and District Hospital on April 1, 1998.
4A consultation was held with respect to this application on November 26, 1998. At the outset of the consultation the parties agreed that the Board should deal with the issue of whether the bargaining units should be site specific or whether they should span the four hospital locations. The parties were of the view that if that issue could be decided they could agree on the descriptions of the bargaining units and other outstanding issues.
5There are currently twelve bargaining units in three of the hospital sites. None of the employees at the Chesley and District Memorial Hospital are unionized. There is a separate registered nurses bargaining unit at each of the other three hospitals; a separate full time "service" unit at each of the other three hospitals; a separate part-time "service" unit at each of the other three hospitals and separate paramedical bargaining units at Kincardine and District Hospital and Durham Memorial Hospital.
6The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 220 represents all of the bargaining units at the Durham Memorial Hospital. The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) represents the nurses at Kincardine and District site and the Bruce General site.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) represents the service units at the former County of Bruce District Hospital and the paramedical unit at the former Kincardine hospital. The SEIU Local 210 represents the service units at the former Kincardine Hospital.
7At the consultation, the hospital, OPSEU and ONA all argued that the bargaining units should span the four sites. The two SEIU locals submitted that the bargaining units should be site specific and that the current, that is pre-amalgamation, bargaining units should be maintained. However, they suggested that if the Board was concerned about the number of bargaining units it might make sense to combine the full-time and part-time units at each hospital.
8At the conclusion of the parties' submissions the Board ruled that the bargaining units would span all four hospitals and would not be site specific. That is the configuration which serves the purposes set out in the Act. The employees of the four former hospitals are now all employees of the same employer. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for the new hospital to make the kinds of administrative, programmatic and departmental changes that hospital amalgamations make possible if its employees who perform the same type of work are in different bargaining units even if those bargaining units are at different sites. It is inconsistent with the concept of rationalizing the bargaining units for the old site specific bargaining units to be maintained with the result that the new hospital must collectively bargain with six, or even three, separate service units, two separate paramedical units and to administer those units and three nurses units separately. It would only be in the most unusual circumstances that the Board could find that the purposes of the Act would be served by maintaining site specific bargaining units. The Board notes that in applications under this Act it is rationalizing existing bargaining units and therefore does not have to be concerned with the problems of organizing a multi-site bargaining unit which is the factor that weighs in favour of fragmentation in certification situations.
9Subsequent to the Board's ruling the parties met with a Labour Relations Officer and agreed upon the number of bargaining units, the descriptions and the vote arrangements.
10The parties agreed that there will be an "all employees unit" described as follows:
all employees of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre employed in the Counties of Bruce and Grey, save and except supervisors, department heads, persons at or above the rank of supervisor or department head, professional medical staff, registered, graduate and undergraduate nurses, paramedical employees, and office and clerical employees.
11Employees in the bargaining unit described in paragraph 10 above will be asked whether they wish to be represented by OPSEU or SEIU in their employment relations with the hospital.
12The parties agreed that there will also be a "paramedical" bargaining unit described as follows:
all paramedical employees of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre employed in the Counties of Bruce and Grey, save and except supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor and office and clerical staff.
13Employees in the bargaining unit described in paragraph 12 will be asked whether they wish to be represented by OPSEU or the SEIU in their employment relations with the hospital. If, after the final determination of the voters' list, more than 40 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit are not represented by a trade union there will also be an option on the ballot that employees can choose not to be resented by any trade union in their employment relations with the hospital.
14The parties agreed that there will also be a bargaining unit of registered and graduate nurses described as follows:
all registered and graduate nurses employed in a nursing capacity by the South Bruce Grey Health Centre in the Counties of Bruce and Grey, save and except co-ordinators, and supervisors and persons at or above the rank of co-ordinator and supervisor.
15Employees in the bargaining unit described in paragraph 14 will be asked whether they wish to be represented by ONA or the SEIU in their employment relations with the hospital.
16The votes will be held on January 20, 1999 at the location and times indicated on the attached "Notice of Vote".
17The hospital is directed to post copies of this decision and the "Notice of Vote" where they are most likely to come to the attention of the employees who may be affected by the application. The copies must remain posted until five days, not including Saturdays or Sundays, after the vote is held.
18Any party or person who wishes to make representations to the Board relating to the conduct of the representation votes must file a detailed statement of representations with the Board and deliver it to the parties so that it is received by the Board within five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays on which the Board is closed) of the date upon which the votes are taken.
19This matter is referred to the Registrar.