Unite Ontario Council v. Liz Claiborne (Canada) Limited

0511-00-R Unite Ontario Council, Applicant v. Liz Claiborne (Canada) Limited, Responding Party.

BEFORE: Brian McLean, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members J. A. Rundle and D. A. Patterson.

DECISION OF THE BOARD; May 18, 2000

1. This is an application for certification.

2. It appears that the applicant has not been certified as a trade union in any prior decision of the Board. The applicant applies under section 12 but has filed no material which could satisfy the Board that each of the trade unions that is a constituent union of the Council has vested appropriate authority in the Council to enable it to discharge the responsibilities of a bargaining agent. Accordingly, if certification is otherwise appropriate, the Board will not certify the applicant until the Board is so satisfied.

3. The responding party, although duly served with the application material on May 15, 2000, according to the certificate of delivery filed by the applicant, failed to file its response with the Board within the time stipulated by Rule 69 of the Board's Rules of Procedure.

4. The membership evidence filed with the application are applications for membership in the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, Local 14. As noted, the Board has no information about the constituent unions of the applicant, including whether Local 14 is one of the constituents. Nevertheless, under all of the circumstances, it appears to the Board on an examination of only the information provided in the application and the information and membership evidence 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 were members of the union at the time the application was made.

5. The Board directs that a representation vote be taken of the individuals in the following voting constituency:

all employees of the responding party in Mississauga, Ontario, save and except supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, office and sales staff, designers, students employed

during the school vacation period, persons regularly employed for not more than 24 hours per week and persons covered by the subsisting collective agreement between the responding party and the applicant.

6. The vote will be held on May 23, 2000. Other vote arrangements will be as determined by the Registrar and set out on the attached "Notice of Vote and of Hearing".

7. All individuals who had an employment relationship with the responding party in the voting constituency on May 15, 2000, the certification application filing date, are eligible to vote. Employees having an employment relationship on May 15, 2000, the certification application filing date, include employees who were not at work on that date, so long as there is a reasonable expectation of their return to employment.

8. 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.

9. The responding party is directed to post copies of this decision and of the "Notice of Vote and of Hearing" adjacent to each of the posted copies of the "Notice to Employees of Application for Certification". These copies must remain posted for 30 days.

10. Any party or person who wishes to make representations to the Board about any issue remaining in dispute which relates to the application for certification, other than status disputes, including any matters relating to the representation vote, must file a detailed statement of representations with the Board and deliver it to the other 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 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. 4: Status Disputes in Certification Applications (Non-Construction).

11. The matter is referred to the Registrar.

“Brian McLean”

for the Board