2347-00-R Brick and Allied Craft Union of Canada, Applicant v. Ontario Power Generation Inc., Responding Party v. Ontario Provincial Conference of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, Local 6, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, Local 7; International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, Local 25, Intervenor.
BEFORE: David A. McKee, Vice-Chair.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; July 16, 2001
This is an application for certification brought pursuant to the construction industry provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, S. O. 1995 ch.1 (the "Act"). There remains a single issue in this proceeding, the description of the bargaining unit. However, that single issue contains within it a number of other issues, or perhaps different ways of articulating the same issue.
The issue(s) appear to be as follows. The applicant seeks to have a bargaining unit for the entire province of Ontario. The other parties submit it should be limited to Board Area 3. In part, this seems to be a "fairness" argument, based on the limited number of employees working on the application date. In part, it appears to be an argument that the OPC was merely the agent for each local union and that somehow bargaining rights are held by the OPC (and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers) as agents for them. The second issue relates to the actual wording of the bargaining unit used in any certificate.
There does appear to be some suggestion of an attack on the status of the BACU in the submissions of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. It is not clear to the Board what that argument is. The BACU has been found to be both a trade union and a council of trade unions. The membership evidence filed contains the statement:
"I hereby make application to become a member of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Union of Canada, and in signing this card I authorize the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Union of Canada to act as my exclusive representative in labour relations, collective bargaining, and all employment matters with my employers."
If there is some issue as to the status of the BACU, it does seem rather late to raise it.
The applicant has requested that the Board proceed by way of written submissions on the issue, primarily because the parties have been unsuccessful in arranging a hearing date before, at the earliest, the week commencing October 22, 2001. The only reason the Board would put the parties to this onerous task is to prevent unnecessary delay. My assessment of the proper way to proceed is to have the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and Locals 6, 7, and 25 make their submissions first, followed by the responding party, followed then by the applicant with the final reply to the responding party and the first two parties. Given that various considerations, including assumed holiday plans, would dictate a month between the first three dates for submission and then two weeks for final reply, it is not clear that a hearing date could not be arranged before the date for final submissions in any event. The other risk is that the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers or Locals 6, 7, and 25 may raise factual issues which would necessitate the hearing of oral evidence in any event.
If the parties proceed by way of written submissions the dates would be as follows:
Submissions of the intervenors August 24, 2001
Submissions of the responding party September 21, 2001
Submissions of the applicant October 19, 2001
Reply submissions to the applicant November 2, 2001
If the parties can arrange any date that is acceptable to them with the Registrar, then the Board will hold a hearing in this matter. If not, the Board directs the parties to file their full written submissions on the remaining issues, including statements of facts relied on (by way of statements of what the evidence of identifiable witnesses will be) and any document relied on, as well as full legal submissions.
"David A. McKee"
for the Board