LW1210 – Labour Law in Canada

Stage 2 - Organizing a Union in Canada + Terminology

With

Paul Tilley

Right to Join a Union

Regardless of where you live in Canada, you have the legal right to join a union and take an active role in helping to establish a union where you work.

Jurisdiction Matters

The specific legal process to have your union legally recognized, or "certified", depends on where your workplace is located. Labour law for most workplaces is covered by provincial legislation, so the specific legal steps to form a union will depend mainly on your province.

Federal JurisdictionWhile most workplaces will fall under provincial labour law, some workplaces are covered by federal labour law. These include workplaces in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and in the following industries:

• broadcasting• telecommunications• banking• air transportation• shipping and navigation• interprovincial or international transportation of goods or

passengers• uranium mining and processing• grain handling• federal crown corporations

Stage 1 – Organizing

Usually employee dissatisfaction creates an environment to begin a secret drive to organize

Option 1 – A national union approaches the workersOption 2 – The workers approach the union

IN SECRET – Initially, employees express their support for the union by signing union membership (Authorization) cards. A movement takes hold to get a majority of workers to sign a union card and pay a nominal fee.

Stage 2 – Cards to Labour Board

When the campaign has reached the proper level of support, these cards are then submitted to the appropriate provincial or federal labour relations board (Labour Board), along with what is often called the union's "application for certification."

The Labour Board will keep the membership cards confidential and will not tell the employer who has signed or not signed a union membership card.

Stage 3 – Labour Board Approval/Election The appropriate Labour Board can either certify (legally recognize) the union based on a check and count of the membership cards or;

In Newfoundland and Labrador, if more than 65% of employees have signed cards, the Labour Relations Board will certify the union without holding a vote. When at least 40% but less than 65% of employees sign union cards, the Labour Relations Board will hold a certification vote (Representation Election) , generally within 5 working days. See: Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations BoardInformation Bulletin on Application for Certification

See: Canada Industrial Relations BoardInformation Circular - Applications for Certifications

Labour Board Defines Bargaining Unit Supervisors and Bargaining Units

Supervisors are excluded from bargaining units Defined as any individual with the authority to hire,

transfer, discharge, discipline, and who uses independent judgment with employees

The Appropriate Bargaining Unit is determined by: “Community of Interest”

Wages, hours, and working conditions Traditional industry groupings for bargaining purposes Physical location and amount of interaction and working

relationships among employee groups Supervision by similar levels of management

Stage 4 – Labour Board Certification

For workplaces in industries covered by Federal labour law and for workplaces in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, if more than 50% of employees have signed cards, the union can be certified. If 35% - 50% of employees have signed union cards, the Labour Board can hold a vote.

Once your union has been officially certified by the Labour Board, you can begin to negotiate your first contract (also known as your collective agreement) as members of the union.

PROVINCIAL JURISDICTION See: Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations BoardInformation Bulletin on Application for Certification

FEDERAL JUSRISTICTION See: Canada Industrial Relations BoardInformation Circular - Applications for Certifications

Stage 5 – In-House Election

The newly certified union represents the workers in a “Union Local”

The Local holds an Election amongst its members

The elected executive represents the Local’s interests and conducts Bargaining on the member’s behalf.

Stage 6 – Bargaining / Labour Action / AgreementAfter a union has been certified, employers have to meet with them and engage in what is called “good faith bargaining”

This bargaining ideally culminates in a contract – an agreement between the union and the employers. The contract is then voted on by union members. If no contract is bargained, then the union can go on strike to put pressure on the employer.

During the strike an employer can hire replacements – which unions called “scabs” to work instead of the striking workers.

Employers are not allowed to fire workers while on strike, but they also are not prevented from replacing them with permanent replacements. One of the conditions of settlement of successful strikes is nearly always getting rid of the replacement workers.

Legal Do’s and Don’ts for Managers During Unionization

Employer Do’s Discharge, suspend, transfer,

layoff or otherwise discipline an employee for proper cause

Make a change in the operation that is reasonably necessary for the proper conduct of business

Express management views on any matter providing it does not use intimidation or coercion

Employer Don’ts Engage in threats, coercion or

intimidation Interrogate employee about their

voting intentions Hire spies or infiltrators to acquire

information or influence union activities

Promise or alter the terms of employment in response to a union drive

Shut down any establishment to avoid or eliminate a union

And many other activities…

Unfair Labour Practices: Union

Bargaining collectively or signing a collective agreement

where another union is known to be the bargaining agent.

Interfering with or participating in the formation of an

employers’ organization.

Attempting to organize on the employer’s premises during

working hours without the consent of the employer.

Using coercion, intimidation, threats, promises, or undue

influence to encourage trade union membership.

Starting a union/Removing a union and Replacing a union: Open Periods

A Union can be formed at any time. Workers can also decide to close a union (decertify a union) or replace a union with another. This can only be done at certain times in the Collective Agreement.

No union: No collective agreement: any time

Union: No collective agreement: one year after certification

Union:1 to 3- year collective agreement last three months of agreement

Union: Collective agreement longer than 3 years: last three months of the third year and the last three months of every year after that

Union: Collective agreement continues in operation last three months of the agreement and the last three months of any additional year

LW1210 – Labour Law in Canada

Unionization Key Terminology

with

Paul Tilley

Unionization: Key Terms Salting

The practice in which unions hire and pay people to apply for jobs at certain companies.

Union Authorization Card A card signed by an

employee to designate a union as his or her collective bargaining agent.

Bargaining Unit Employees eligible to select

a single union to represent and bargain collectively for them.

Union Certification Occurs when a union becomes

the legal representatives for designated employees as granted by the labour relations board.

Decertification The process whereby a union is

removed as the representative of a group of employees.

First Contract Arbitration Once a newly formed union has

been certified, the employer and the union must negotiate a first contract within a specified period of time.

Collective Bargaining

A process through which union leaders and

management personnel negotiate common terms and

conditions of employment

Union power is achieved through group action enabled

by the collective bargaining process

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Collective Bargaining

union and management try to reach an agreement on such issues as pay, pensions, workload and holidays

once an agreement is reached a contract called a collective agreement is signed by both sides that state the terms of the agreement and how long it is in effect

Collective Bargaining

if a dispute arises during the term of the collective agreement than an arbitrator (outside person) settles the dispute

Conciliation / Mediation

after a contract expires and the two sides cannot come to an agreement on a new contract

both union and management may agree to allow a conciliator (outside person) hear both sides and try to bring them to an agreement

Strike / Lockout

Occurs if labour and management cannot come to an agreement and create a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)

labour may strike (withhold labour services) or management may lockout the workers

Strike / Lockout

both sides use this tactic as a last resort as it hurts everyone involved including the economy as a whole (e.g. NHL lockout) Players vs OwnersSummary Article What’s fair?

both sides feel a strike or lockout will force the other side to give in to their contract demands

The Contract

union security closed shop – membership mandatory OR open shop – membership not mandatory

wages and benefits cost of living allowances (COLAs) allow wages to keep up with inflation and benefits such as medical, dental, pension and life insurance

The Contract

seniority laid off based on “last in first out” principle

grievance procedures procedure to settle disputes between workers and management

Unions & Wages

restricting supply of labour causes wages to increase

increasing the demand for labour causes wages to increase

balances the power of monopolies and oligopolies

Labour Unions

Groups of individuals working together to achieve job-related goals

higher pay

reasonable work hours

better working conditions

better job security

benefits

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Certifying a Union

Determine and seek government approval

The nature of the bargaining unit employees

Certification vote supervised by a

government representative to determine whether the union can be certified, and therefore, legitimately exist

Decertification The process by which employees

terminate their union’s right to represent them

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Local Union

Basic union organization

Focused on a small geographic area

All are members of the same craft or industrial union

May make up the union in a single organization

Powers of locals vary and may include

collective bargaining on behalf of members

disciplining members who violate contract standards

handling employee grievances with management

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National and International Unions

National unions have members across Canada

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

National Railway Union (NRU)

Canadian Airline Pilots Union (CAPU)

International unions have members in more than one country

United Steelworkers of America (USWA)

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Closed Shop

Employer can hire only unionized workers

All workers are members of the union and therefore pay union dues

Common in craft trades, such as building/electrical contractors

Provides the most security for union membership

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Agency Shop

An employee need not join the union

Rand Formula

All employees who benefit from union negotiations are required to pay dues to the union whether or not they are a member

Applies to all unions certified under the Quebec Labour Code

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Open Shop

An employer may hire union or non-union employees Employees not required to join the union

Employees not required to pay union dues

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