1613-01-R International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Applicant v. Konecranes Canada Inc. o/a Crane Pro Services, Responding Party.
BEFORE: Inge M. Stamp, Vice‑Chair, and Board Members G. Pickell and G. McMenemy.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; September 13, 2001
This is an application for certification filed under the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the "Act").
The Registrar has certified that the applicant had been found to be a trade union in an earlier proceeding under the Act. Therefore, having regard to the Registrar’s certificate and section 113 of the Act, the Board finds that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of section 1(1) and section 126 of the Act. Pursuant to the designation issued by the Minister under section 153(1) of the Act on December 12, 1977, the designated employee bargaining agency is the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the IBEW Construction Council of Ontario.
The responding party filed its response with the Board within the time stipulated by Rule 135 of the Board's Rules of Procedure.
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.
The responding party has filed a timely notice under section 8.1. Because of the uncertainty with respect to the status of the responding party as an employer in the construction industry, and because the notice under section 8.1 is possibly relevant depending on the outcome of any issues relating to the membership evidence, the ballot boxes will be sealed and each ballot segregated until the Board orders otherwise or the parties agree to open the boxes and count the ballots.
This application is filed together with four applications under the general provisions of the Act (Board File Nos. 1614-01-R, 1615-01-R, 1616-01-R and 1617-01-R). The membership evidence is the same for this application and the four general applications. The Board presumes that the union has made the applications in the alternative; that is, if the Board finds that the responding party is not an employer in the construction industry, the applicant seeks to be certified under the general provisions of the Act.
The responding party asserts that there are no employees in the applicant’s bargaining unit. It is the position of the responding party that it is not a construction employer and does not employ employees engaged in construction work. Schedule “A” provided by the responding party lists 30 employees described as Service Technicians, Technicians, Field Supervisors and Site Inspectors.
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.
The Board further finds, pursuant to section 158(1) of the Act, that all electricians and electricians’ 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 electricians and electricians’ apprentices in the employ of the responding party in all other sectors of the construction industry in the Counties of Essex and Kent; the Counties of Oxford, Perth, Huron, Middlesex, Bruce, and Elgin; the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (except that portion of the geographic Township of Beverly annexed by North Dumfries Township); 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 District of Thunder Bay; the District of Kenora including the Patricia portion; 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.
Having regard to the Board's finding as to the appropriate bargaining unit, the Board directs that a representation vote be taken of the individuals in the following voting constituency:
all electricians and electricians’ apprentices in the employ of Konecranes Canada Inc. o/a Crane Pro Services in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector of the construction industry in the Province of Ontario and all electricians and electricians’ apprentices in the employ of Konecranes Canada Inc. o/a Crane Pro Services in all other sectors of the construction industry in the Counties of Essex and Kent; the Counties of Oxford, Perth, Huron, Middlesex, Bruce, and Elgin; the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (except that portion of the geographic Township of Beverly annexed by North Dumfries Township); 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 District of Thunder Bay; the District of Kenora including the Patricia portion; 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.
The vote will be held on September 17, 2001. Vote arrangements are set out on the attached "Notice of Vote and of Meeting".
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.
All individuals who were employed by Konecranes Canada Inc. o/a Crane Pro Services and at work in the voting constituency on September 7, 2001 are eligible to vote.
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.
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.
This matter is referred to the Registrar.
“Inge M. Stamp”
for the Board