I.A.T.S.E., Local 58 (“IATSE”) v. The Corporation of the Town of Richmond Hill (“Richmond Hill”), Board File Number 0392-11-R – (Ontario Labour Relations Board.)

This decision involves an Application for Certification filed by IATSE in respect of stagehands employed by the Town of Richmond Hill (the “Employer”).  At issue in this decision was whether the Application for Certification was statute barred as the Employer and the Intervenor, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 905 (“CUPE”) alleged that the “stagehands” were already represented by CUPE and covered by their collective agreement which did not expire until March 31, 2013.

The Board held that the IATSE Application was barred pursuant to Section 7(4) of the Labour Relations

Act as the stagehands were covered by the CUPE Collective Agreement.  In reaching this conclusion the Board considered that CUPE and Richmond Hill had contemplated that CUPE represented the stagehands as evidenced by a letter of understanding signed in 2008 governing how the stagehands would be governed by the CUPE Collective Agreement.  Additionally, the Board held that stagehands are plausibly included under the recognition clause of the CUPE Collective Agreement for an “‘all employee’ full time bargaining unit”.  The combination of the breadth of the recognition clause and the 2008 letter of understanding was sufficient for the Board to determine that the stagehands were covered by the CUPE agreement.  As a result, the IATSE Application for Certification was dismissed.

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