- May 24, 2021
- Certifications/Decertifications
Application for certification (first of three decisions). Following a representation vote, the employer contended that the voters were independent contractors, not employees. The ballots were segregated and the ballot box was sealed by the Returning Officer. The local contended that the Returning Officer inappropriately refused to count the ballots and argued that the ballot box should be opened and the ballots counted. An issue was also raised regarding the local status as a trade union within the meaning of the Act. The Board held that the Returning Officer did not inappropriately refuse to count the ballots. To proceed to count the ballots in the face of the employer’s challenges would have cast the Returning Officer in an adjudicative role in respect of the merits of those challenges. The ballot box was to remain sealed unless the panel of the Board assigned to the hearing ordered or the parties agreed otherwise. The Board directed that the employer file materials in response to materials filed by the local regarding its status as a trade union within the meaning of the Act.