Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton
File No.: 2378-00-PS Date: April 12, 2001 Ontario Labour Relations Board
Between: Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Applicant v. St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 786, Ontario Nurses’ Association and Security and Service Workers’ Union Local 503 affiliated with the Christian Labour Association of Canada, Responding Parties.
Before: Laura Trachuk, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD
1Representation votes were held on March 28, 2001 pursuant to the Board’s direction of March 2, 2001. The only submissions which the Board has received relate to a request for reconsideration by a group of pharmacists. The pharmacists were included in the paramedical/technical bargaining unit by agreement of the parties.
2The Board finds that it can determine the issue raised by the pharmacists on the basis of the written submissions that have been filed. The pharmacists request that the Board reconsider its decision to include them in the paramedical/technical bargaining unit because they perform similar work to pharmacotherapy specialists who had been excluded. St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union oppose the pharmacists’ request. They submit that the pharmacists have no standing under the legislation to make the request, that the agreement reached by the parties should not be disturbed and that, in any case, there is no merit to the request.
3The Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997 (the “Act”) provides that a successor employer (in this case St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton) or a trade union representing employees, may apply to the Board for a determination with respect to the number and description of bargaining units. Such a determination is subject to an agreement between the successor employer and the trade unions. The scheme of the Act contemplates deference to agreements between employers and trade unions. The Act does not include a role for individual employees in the determination of the number and description of bargaining units. However, if more that 40% of the employees in a bargaining unit were not represented by a trade union prior to the changeover date there must be an option on the ballot in a representation vote for employees to choose not to be so represented. There was such an option on the ballot for the paramedical/technical bargaining unit. Nevertheless, the majority of the employees in that unit chose to be represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. It is not uncommon for employees who were previously unrepresented by trade unions to find them themselves in bargaining units as a result of public sector restructuring and the process under the Act. In this case, many formerly unrepresented individuals are now in the paramedical/technical bargaining unit. It is also not uncommon for the reverse to occur. Employees who were represented by a trade union find themselves without such representation because the majority of the employees in the new unit do not wish to be represented by a trade union.
4The pharmacists had no standing under the Act to participate as a party in the determination of the appropriate number and description of bargaining units. They therefore have no standing to ask that those descriptions be changed. In any case, the bargaining unit description reflects the agreement of the parties to this application and meets the purposes of the Act. It would be inappropriate for the Board to revisit it because certain employees do not want to be included. The Board declines to reconsider the description of the paramedical/technical bargaining unit and the pharmacists’ request is denied. As their segregated ballots are not numerically relevant to the outcome of the vote it is not necessary to count them.
5No statement of desire to make representations with respect to the conduct of the votes has been filed with the Board within the time fixed by the Board following the taking of the representation vote pursuant to its direction of March 2, 2001.
The Nurses Bargaining Unit
6On the taking of the representation vote directed by the Board, more than fifty per cent of the ballots cast by employees in the nurses bargaining unit were cast in favour of the Ontario Nurses Association.
7The Ontario Nurses Association therefore represents the employees in the bargaining unit set out in paragraph 2 of the Board’s decision of March 2, 2001.
The Paramedical/ Technical Unit
8On the taking of the representation vote directed by the Board, more than fifty per cent of the ballots cast by employees in the paramedical/technical unit were case in favour of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
9The Ontario Public Service Employees Union therefore represents the employees in the bargaining unit set out in paragraph 5 of the Board’s decision of March 2, 2001.
The Service/Clerical/Maintenance/ RPN Unit
10On the taking of the representation vote directed by the Board, more than fifty per cent of the ballots cast by employees in the service/clerical/maintenance/RPN unit were cast in favour of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
11The Canadian Union of Public Employees therefore represents the employees set out in the bargaining unit described in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 of the Board’s decision of March 2, 2001.
12St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton is directed to post copies of this decision in locations where they are likely to come to the attention of the employees. The copies must remain posted for 30 days.
“Laura Trachuk”
for the Board