0718-01-R United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 27, Applicant v. Quality Rugs of Canada Limited, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Inge M. Stamp, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members J. G. Knight and A. Haward.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; June 6, 2001
1. This is an application for certification filed under the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the "Act").
2. 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 June 23, 1997, the designated employee bargaining agency is the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
3. The responding party served with the application material on June 1, 2001, according to the certificate of delivery filed by the applicant, filed its response with the Board within the time stipulated by Rule 135 of the Board's Rules of Procedure.
4. 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 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.
6. The applicant applied for its standard bargaining unit of all carpenters and carpenters’ 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 carpenters and carpenters’ 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; the Regional Municipality of Durham (except for the Towns of Ajax and Pickering), the geographic Township of Cavan in the County of Peterborough and the geographic Township of Manvers in the County of Victoria; the County of Simcoe and the District Municipality of Muskoka and the Regional Municipality of Hamilton‑Wentworth, the City of Burlington, that portion of the geographic Township of Beverly annexed by North Dumfries Township and that portion of the Town of Milton within the geographic Townships of Nassagaweya and Nelson, 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.
7. The responding party disagrees with the bargaining unit description and with the number of persons employed in the applicant’s proposed bargaining unit. The responding party states that it does not employ any employees in Board Area #18, the County of Simcoe and the District Municipality of Muskoka. The applicant’s bargaining unit refers to Board Areas #8, 9, 18 and 26.
7. In the circumstances the Board directs that a representation vote be taken of the individuals in the following voting constituency:
all carpenters and carpenters’ apprentices in the employ of Quality Rugs of Canada Limited in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and all carpenters and carpenters’ apprentices in the employ of Quality Rugs of Canada Limited 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; the Regional Municipality of Durham (except for the Towns of Ajax and Pickering), the geographic Township of Cavan in the County of Peterborough and the geographic Township of Manvers in the County of Victoria; the County of Simcoe and the District Municipality of Muskoka and the Regional Municipality of Hamilton‑Wentworth, the City of Burlington, that portion of the geographic Township of Beverly annexed by North Dumfries Township and that portion of the Town of Milton within the geographic Townships of Nassagaweya and Nelson, save and except non-working foremen and persons above the rank of non‑working foreman.
8. The vote will be held on June 8, 2001. Vote arrangements are set out on the attached "Notice of Vote and of Meeting".
9. 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.
10. All individuals who were employed by Quality Rugs of Canada Limited and at work in the voting constituency on June 1, 2001 are eligible to vote.
11. 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.
12. Having regard to the section 8.1 notice the Board directs that each ballot be segregated and the ballot box be sealed until the Board orders otherwise or the parties agree to count the ballots.
13. 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.
14. This matter is referred to the Registrar.
“Inge M. Stamp”
for the Board