- May 26, 2021
- Certifications/Decertifications
This decision concerns a decertification application which the Union successfully defended. The Board refused to declare that IATSE Local 891 had abandoned its bargaining rights in the circumstances. The employer, NASCO Staffing Solutions, operated a temporary event staffing company. The Union successfully certified a unit of employees composed of production, technical staff, set-up and tear down staff in 2009.
The parties ratified a collective agreement which ended in December 2012, but by 2011 there were no employees in the bargaining unit. The Union investigated whether bargaining unit work was being done and did not pursue a grievance.
The employer argued that the Union abandoned its bargaining rights due to the length of inactivity relating to the administration of the Collective Agreement, minimal effort to renew the Collective Agreement, and a failure to make use of grievance and arbitration provisions. The Union argued that the parties previously agreed there was no need to renegotiate an agreement while there were no members performing bargaining unit work, and that the Union could not have been aware work was being performed.
The Board rejected the employer’s arguments and refused to decertify the unit. The Board noted that it was not in dispute that the employer did not employ any employees to perform bargaining unit work since 2011. The Board held that where there does not appear to be any bargaining unit work taking place, it is not unreasonable for a union not to be particularly active with respect to a certification even if that inactivity lasts for a few years. The parties discussed collective bargaining in 2012, and agreed that a renewal was not needed. The employer could not successfully characterize this as a six year period of inactivity in the circumstances.