0356-00-R International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Glaziers Local 1819, Applicant v. W.C.H. Access Systems Inc., Responding Party.
BEFORE: Harry Freedman, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members J. G. Knight and G. McMenemy.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; May 9, 2000
This is an application for certification filed under the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, c.1 as amended (the “Act”). This application was filed on May 2, 2000.
The Board finds that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of sections 1(1) and 126 of the Act and is an affiliated bargaining agent of a designated employee bargaining agency. Pursuant to the designation issued by the Minister under section 153(1) of the Act on April 4, 1978, the designated employee bargaining agency is the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades and the Ontario Council of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades.
The responding party was duly served with the application on May 4, 2000, according to the Certificate of Delivery filed by counsel for the applicant and failed to file its response with the Board within the time stipulated by Rule 135 of the Board's Rules of Procedure.
There are irregularities in some of the evidence filed by the applicant pursuant to section 7(13) of the Act. The name of Local 1819 did not appear on two applications for membership. All of the other evidence of membership did specifically refer to Local 1819 and all of the membership evidence referred to the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. In addition, none of the membership evidence had the signature of a witness to the signature of the person who was applying for membership in the applicant. The Declaration Verifying Membership Evidence signed by a business representative of the applicant does state that on the basis of the person knowledge of or the inquires made by that business representative, the membership documents were signed by the employees indicated on the documents. While the Board would prefer to see membership evidence with a witness to the signature of the employee applying for membership in an applicant trade union seeking certification as some verification that the employee whose name appears on the membership document actually signed the document, the Board’s Rules do not require a witness to the signature. Furthermore, there was nothing on the face of the membership documents filed that would cause the Board to doubt their veracity. Assuming without deciding that the two applications for membership that did not have the name of Local 1819 on them do not establish an appearance of membership in the applicant (see Chapleau Forest Products Limited, [1990] OLRB Rep. Dec. 1243 at 1246; application for judicial review dismissed, [1991] OLRB Rep. April 577; Bernardin of Canada Limited, [1975] OLRB Rep. Oct. 737; Clorox Company of Canada Ltd., [1980] OLRB Rep. Feb. 184) the Board is prepared to consider only the remaining evidence of membership containing the name of Local 1819 to make the determination required by section 8(2) of the Act.
The Board is satisfied on an examination of only the information provided in the application and the membership evidence containing the name Local 1819 and the information filed by the applicant (see section 8(3) of the Act), that not less than forty per cent of the individuals in the bargaining unit proposed in the application for certification appeared to be members of the applicant at the time the application was made.
The Board finds that this is an application for certification within the meaning of section 128 of the Act and is an application made pursuant to section 158(1) of the Act which provides that:
An application for certification as bargaining agent which relates to the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry referred to in the definition of "sector" in section 126 shall be brought by either,
(a) an employee bargaining agency; or
(b) one or more affiliated bargaining
agents of the employee bargaining agency,
on behalf of all affiliated bargaining agents of the employee bargaining agency and the unit of employees shall include all employees who would be bound by a provincial agreement together with all other employees in at least one appropriate geographic area unless bargaining rights for such geographic area have already been acquired under subsection (2) or by voluntary recognition.
The Board further finds, pursuant to section 158(1) of the Act, that all glaziers and glaziers’ apprentices in the employ of the responding party in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and all glaziers and glaziers’ apprentices in the employ of the responding party in all other sectors of the construction industry in the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipalities of Peel and York, the Towns of Oakville and Halton Hills and that portion of the Town of Milton within the geographic Townships of Esquesing and Trafalgar, and the Towns of Ajax and Pickering in the Regional Municipality of Durham, save and except non-working foremen and persons above the rank of non-working foreman, constitute a unit of employees of the responding party appropriate for collective bargaining.
The Board directs that a representation vote be taken of the individuals in the following voting constituency
all glaziers and glaziers’ apprentices in the employ of W.C.H. Access Systems Inc. in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and all glaziers and glaziers’ apprentices in the employ of W.C.H. Access Systems Inc. in all other sectors of the construction industry in the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipalities of Peel and York, the Towns of Oakville and Halton Hills and that portion of the Town of Milton within the geographic Townships of Esquesing and Trafalgar, and the Towns of Ajax and Pickering in the Regional Municipality of Durham, save and except non-working foremen and persons above the rank of non-working foreman.
The vote will be held on May 11, 2000 . Vote arrangements are set out on the attached "Notice of Vote and of Meeting".
The responding party is directed to post copies of the application for certification, the “Notice to Employees of Application for Certification”, this decision and the "Notice of Vote and of Meeting" in a location or locations where they are most likely to come to the attention of those individuals who are eligible to vote.
All individuals who were employed by W.C.H. Access Systems Inc.. and at work in the voting constituency on May 2, 2000 are eligible to vote.
Voters will be asked to indicate whether or not they wish to be represented by the applicant in their employment relations with the responding party.
Any party or person who wishes to make representations to the Board about any issue relating to the application for certification which remains in dispute, other than status disputes, must file a detailed statement of representations and all material facts upon which they rely with the Board and deliver it to the other parties, so that it is received within five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays on which the Board is closed) of the date on which the vote is taken. Representations with respect to any status dispute must be made in accordance with the directions provided in Information Bulletin No. 9: Status Disputes in Certification Applications in the Construction Industry.
This matter is referred to the Registrar.
“Harry Freedman”
for the Board