- June 9, 2021
- Jurisdiction/Cases Involving Rival Unions
On April 3, May 30 and June 27, 2014 the Quebec District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada (“QC-DGC”) filed applications for certification (the “QC-DGC Applications”) pursuant to the An Act Respecting the Professional Status and Conditions of Engagement of Performing, Recording and Film Artists, CQLR c S-32.1 (“the APS”). The sectors of negotiation that were referred to in the QC-DGC Applications were broader that those that were prescribed as falling within the jurisdiction of the QC-DGC in An Act to amend the Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of performing, recording and film artists and other legislative provisions, L.Q. 2009, c. 32 (the “2009 Act”). In fact, some of the functions that the QC-DCG sought to represent fell within the scope of the accreditations of the Alliance quebecoise des techniciens de l’image et du son (“AQTIS”) and the Association quebecoise de la production mediatique (“AQPM”).
In the present decision, the Commission des relations du travail (“CRT”) considered a request by the QC-DGC, AQTIS and AQPM that the CRT order a vote amongst the employees affected by the change in structure proposed in the QC-DGC Applications. The employees would vote on whether they preferred the status quo (bargaining structure set-out in the 2009 Act) or the structure proposed by the QC-DGC.
IATSE, Locals 514 and 667 intervened in the proceeding but would not be directly affected by the vote. IATSE did not oppose the request for a vote to the extent that it did not affect its accreditations and did not interpret the 2009 Act in a manner that prejudiced it in the future.
In this decision, the CRT considered whether it had the authority amend the bargaining units prescribed the 2009 Act and, if it did, whether it should grant the request for a vote, including reviewing the bargaining units proposed in the QC-DGC Applications.
THE QC-DGC APPLICATIONS
On April 3, May 30 and June 27, 2014 the QC-DGC filed four applications for certifications during the raiding period prescribed in s. 14 of the APS, which were being heard together. The QC-DGC Applications sought the certification of following sectors of negotiation:
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 1 that is aimed principally and originally at commercial distribution in movie theatres and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, and draftsperson;
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 1 that is aimed principally and originally at distribution on a linear programing service holding a CRTC license and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, and draftsperson;
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 1 that is not aimed principally and originally at commercial distribution in movie theatres or the distribution on a linear programing service holding a CRTC license and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, and draftsperson;
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 2 and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, draftsperson, location manager, assistant location managers, and location scout manager;
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 3 and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, draftsperson, location manager, assistant location managers, and location scout manager;
- All artists working on a production falling within Sector 4 and performing one or more of the following functions: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant director, production designer, art director, assistant art director, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator, draftsperson, location manager, assistant location managers, and location scout manager;
The QC-DGC already represented employees performing the following functions:
- In Sector 1: directors (for English-language productions), production designers, art directors, and draftspersons;
- In Sector 2: directors (for English-language productions), 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, production designers, art directors, assistant art directors, art department coordinators, assistant art department coordinators, and draftspersons;
- In Sector 3: directors (for English-language productions), 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, production designers, art directors, assistant art directors, and draftspersons; and
- In Sector 4: directors (for English-language productions), 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, production designers, art directors, assistant art directors, art department coordinators, assistant art department coordinators, and draftspersons.
The QC-DGC was therefore seeking to expand its accreditation to include functions in sectors of negotiation that the 2009 Act provided were within the jurisdiction of AQTIS.
- In Sector 1: 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, assistant art directors, art department coordinators, assistant art department coordinators;
- In Sectors 2 and 4: directors (for English-language productions), 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, production designers, art directors, assistant art directors, art department coordinators, assistant art department coordinators, and draftspersons;
- In Sector 3: art department coordinators, assistant art department coordinators, location managers, assistant location managers, and location scout managers;
CAN THE CRT AMEND THE BARGAINING UNITS PRESCRIBED IN THE 2009 ACT?
Section 56 of the APS provides the CRT with the power to “to decide any application for recognition submitted by an artists’ association or an association of producers” and s. 57 provides that the CRT may, upon application, define negotiating sectors for which certification may be granted. Section 58 allows to the CRT to determine whether a person is included within a sector of negotiation and decide all issues related to an application for certification.
Section 59 of the APS outlined the criteria that the CRT should follow when applying sections 57 and 58:
59. For the purposes of sections 57 and 58, the Commission shall take into particular account the common interest of the artists or, as the case may be, the producers concerned and the history of their relations in respect of the negotiation of group agreements.
Interests of producers
The Commission may also take into account the interest that producers may have to group together according to the shared characteristics of their activities.
(emphasis added)
The CRT held that the use of “particular” indicates that the list of criteria is not exhaustive. The CRT in Union des artistes v. Association des producteurs de films et de television du Quebec, 2010 QCCRT 0203 held that the negotiation sectors proposed by an association had to be appropriate, but not necessarily the most appropriate, and that the weight that the CRT attributed to criteria used in determining what was appropriate varied with each case. The CRT had the discretion to apply various criteria so long as its analysis was consistent with the letter and spirit of the APS.
Section 43 of the 2009 Act provides:
43. The sectors of negotiation provided for in sections 35 and 36 apply until the Commission des relations du travail modifies or replaces them; however, those sectors of negotiation may not be modified or replaced before 1 July 2014.
The time period provided for in the first paragraph does not prevent an application being presented to the Commission des relations du travail to review the subdivision of the sectors of negotiation provided for in section 35 in relation to the audiovisual production media, on condition that the application is made jointly by the artists’ association recognized for the sector and a concerned association of producers. These parties may, among other things, request that the Commission ratify any agreement made in relation to the subdivision of the sector.
On request or on the Minister’s own initiative, the Minister may designate a mediator to facilitate a rapid resolution of a difficulty in interpreting or applying the sectors of negotiation provided for in section 35 with regard to a production. The Minister assumes the expenses of and remunerates such a mediator. The parties are required to attend any meeting to which the mediator convenes them.
(emphasis added)
The CRT held that nothing in the 2009 Act prohibited it from amending a part of a sector of negotiation after July 1, 2014. In this case, neither AQTIS or AQPM opposed the jurisdiction of the CRT to amend the sectors of negotiation. The parties were merely proposing a means to assist in the resolution of the dispute arising from the QC-DGC Applications.
The CRT granted the request for a vote and, accordingly, ordered a vote amongst the following groups of employees:
- All 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant directors, art department coordinator, assistant art department coordinator and assistant art director that have actively worked in sector 1 as defined in the 2009 Act;
- All location managers, assistant location managers, and location scout managers that have actively worked in sector 2 as defined in the 2009 Act;
- All location managers, assistant location managers, location scout managers, art department coordinator, and assistant art department coordinator that have actively worked in sector 3 as defined in the 2009 Act;
- All location managers, assistant location managers, and location scout managers, that have actively worked in sector 3 as defined in the 2009 Act. [NOTE: I THINK THERE IS A MISTAKE IN THE DECISION AND IT SHOULD READ SECTOR 4 NOT 3]
The CRT further held that eligible voters are those whose name appeared on one of four lists submitted at the June 1, 2015 hearing and ordered that the parties assist the labour relations officer of the CRT to set-up the vote; and that the results would be submitted as evidence in the DGR Applications.