Ontario Labour Relations Board
File No.: 0519-01-U International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 721, Applicant v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Bram Herlich, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; July 3, 2001
Decision
This is an application filed pursuant to section 96 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“the Act”). The applicant trade union (“the Ironworkers”) alleges that the responding party trade union (the “Carpenters”) has violated sections 73(2) and 162(2) of the Act.
The issue arises because of apparently overlapping jurisdictions found in collective agreements each union has entered into with the same employer (“Yukon”).
The agreement the Ironworkers claim to have entered covers all “reinforcing rod workers and reinforcing rod worker apprentices in all sectors of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario”. This agreement was executed on August 12, 1999.
It appears that about a month later, the Carpenters also entered into an agreement with Yukon. That agreement covers, inter alia, “rodmen and rodmens’ apprentices… in the Province of Ontario”.
Despite the apparent overlap of coverage, it does not appear that any difficulties have resulted prior to the filing of the instant complaint. Indeed, on the basis of the materials filed, it is not clear that any operational incompatibility between the two agreements has attained anything more than a theoretical existence.
The responding party trade union concedes that it has not and does not intend to apply the agreement to rodmen employed in the ICI sector.
Further, the applicant asserts (and this assertion is not challenged) that the Carpenters have never supplied reinforcing rod workers to Yukon. Neither is there any suggestion that has or is about to change.
In those circumstances, there may be some merit to the Carpenters’ claim that the application fails to disclose any actual negative impact on the applicants’ members.
Before the Board considers that further, the applicant will be provided with the opportunity to respond to the Carpenters’ urging that the Board decline to hear this application.
Any such submissions are to be filed with the Board (and delivered to the other parties) within three weeks of the date of this decision.
The Board will review the matter again once those submissions have been filed or the time for doing so has passed.
“Bram Herlich”
for the Board