1576-01-R Celestino Antunes, Applicant v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Responding Party v. Mississauga Foundry Limited, Intervenor.
BEFORE: Timothy W. Sargeant, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members J. A. Rundle and R. R. Montague.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; September 7, 2001
The applicant has applied to the Board under section 63 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”) for a declaration that the responding party no longer represents the employees in the bargaining unit for which it is the bargaining agent.
This application was filed on September 4, 2001. The employees who are affected by this application are covered by a collective agreement between the responding party and Mississauga Foundry Limited, with an effective date of May 28, 2000, until November 30, 2001. The bargaining unit description in that collective agreement is as follows:
all employees of Mississauga Foundry Limited at its premises in the City of Mississauga except foremen, supervisors, persons above the rank of foreman or supervisor, office, clerical workers and sales staff.
Having regard to the provisions of section 63(2) of the Act, the Board finds that this application is timely.
It appears to the Board on an examination of the evidence before it, that not less than forty per cent of the employees in the bargaining unit had expressed a wish not to be represented by the trade union at the time the application was filed.
The Board directs that a representation vote be taken of the employees of Mississauga Foundry Limited employed in the bargaining unit described in paragraph 2 above. All those employed in that bargaining unit on September 4, 2001, the application filing date, will be eligible to vote.
The responding party asks that the vote be delayed as all of its union representatives will be attending a conference in Vancouver. The Board is not prepared to accede to this request. The vote will be held on September 11, 2001. Other vote arrangements will be as determined by the Registrar and set out on the attached Notice of Vote and of Hearing.
Voters will be asked to indicate whether or not they wish to be represented by the responding party in their employment relations with Mississauga Foundry Limited.
The responding party seeks the dismissal of this application without a vote pursuant to section 63(16) of the Act. The responding party alleges that the employer or a person acting on behalf of the employer initiated the application or engaged in threats, coercion or intimidation in connection with the application. Having considered the pleadings set out in the response the Board is not prepared to dismiss this application without a vote, but in the circumstances directs that the ballot box be sealed and the ballots not counted until the Board so orders or the parties agree.
The employer is directed to post copies of this decision and of the "Notice of Vote and of Hearing" adjacent to all copies of the "Notice to Employees of Application for Termination of Bargaining Rights" posted previously. These copies must remain posted for 30 days.
Any party or person who wishes to make representations to the Board about any issue remaining in dispute which relates to the application for termination of bargaining rights, other than status disputes, 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. 5: Status Disputes in Termination Applications (Non-Construction).
The matter is referred to the Registrar.
“Timothy W. Sargeant”
for the Board