National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation & General Workers’ Union of Canada (CAW-Canada) v. Trillium Villa Inc.
3755-99-R; 3915-99-R National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation & General Workers’ Union of Canada (CAW-Canada), Applicant v. Trillium Villa Inc., Responding Party v. Service Employees International Union, Local 220, Intervenor.
BEFORE: Patrick Kelly, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members J. A. Rundle and D. A. Patterson.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; May 29, 2000
1The style of cause is hereby amended to reflect the correct name of the responding party in both Board files: “Trillium Villa Inc.”
2The Board is in receipt of representations from all the parties following the taking of the representation votes pursuant to the Board’s decisions of March 23, 2000 and April 3, 2000. The responding party’s submission dealt with the separation of the bargaining units. That issue is no longer in dispute, as the applicant no longer opposes the position of the responding party.
3The intervenor (“SEIU”) takes the position that the Board should postpone its decision in these matters until the latter of two events, namely the disposition of its contempt motion against representatives of the applicant, or the final disposition of proceedings under the constitution of the Canadian Labour Congress (“the CLC”) in which it was found that the applicant had acted contrary to the CLC constitution in making displacement applications covering workplaces in which the intervenor held bargaining rights, including this one. SEIU contends that the issuing of certificates at this time would potentially lead to labour relations uncertainty and chaos in the event the position of the SEIU prevails in either the court or CLC proceeding.
4The applicant opposes the postponement of the Board’s decision in these matters. The responding party takes no position on the issue of postponement.
5In its decision of March 23 and April 3, 2000, differently constituted panels of the Board ordered the representation votes in these matters, despite SEIU’s request that the Board not conduct the vote on the basis of its court motion for an injunction (which now forms the basis for SEIU’s contempt motion). Moreover, the Board (again, differently constituted) dealt with similar SEIU arguments in written decisions dated April 7, 2000 and April 18, 2000 covering a number of other certification applications. Board File No. 3755-99-R was dealt with in the April 18, 2000 decision. In those decisions, the Board found no support for SEIU’s position concerning the contempt motion or the CLC proceedings insofar as they impact upon proceedings under the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“the Act”). The Board in those decisions refused to adjourn the proceedings, and ordered that the ballots cast in the representation vote be counted. In respect of the post-representation vote submissions made by SEIU in these matters, and for the same reasons already articulated by the other panels of the Board in the aforementioned decisions, the Board can find no valid reason to delay the final determination of these matters. The employees in each application have unequivocally indicated their wishes to be represented by the applicant. Section 10 of the Act requires that where more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in the representation vote are cast in favour of the applicant, the Board shall certify the applicant. There does not appear to be any Board discretion to postpone the issue of certificates. However, even if there were such a discretion, postponement would leave the employees in at least as uncertain a labour relations position as that alleged by SEIU as a result of the issue of a certificate that continues to be the subject of ongoing litigation in other fora. The Board declines to postpone issuing a decision, or to conduct a further hearing to deal with arguments that have been previously considered and rejected by the Board.
6Having regard to the agreement of the applicant and responding party in Board File No. 3755-99-R, the Board finds that:
all employees of Trillium Villa Inc. at Sarnia, save and except supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, registered nurses, persons regularly employed for not more than 24 hours per week, students employed during the school vacation period and office staff,
constitute a unit of employees of the responding party appropriate for collective bargaining.
7Having further regard to the agreement of the applicant and responding party in Board File No. 3915-99-R, the Board finds that:
all employees of Trillium Villa Inc. at Sarnia regularly employed for not more than 24 hours per week and students employed during the school vacation period, save and except supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, registered nurses and office staff,
constitute a unit of employees of the responding party appropriate for collective bargaining.
8On the taking of the representation votes directed by the Board, more than fifty per cent of the ballots cast by employees in the bargaining units were cast in favour of the applicant.
9Certificates will issue to the applicant.
10The Registrar will destroy the ballots cast in the representation votes taken in these matters following the expiration of 30 days from the date of this decision unless a statement requesting that the ballots should not be destroyed is received by the Board from one of the parties before the expiration of such 30 day period.
11Meeting and hearing dates set previously are hereby cancelled.
12The responding party is directed to post copies of this decision immediately, adjacent to all copies of the "Notice of Vote and of Hearing" posted previously. These copies must remain posted until the date that had been set for the hearings.
“Patrick Kelly”
for the Board