Question

Labor Relations- Chapter 5- G o v e r n m e n t s , L a b o u r R e l a t i o n s B o a r d s , a n d O t h e r P a r t i e s

Case Study- Quality Inn & Suites Brantford v. UFCW Local 175

In January 2012 the Ontario Labour Relations Board was asked to consider an application for the termination of bargaining rights filed under the Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, c.1, as amended (the “Act”). When the representation vote was taken, as directed by the Board, more than 50 percent of the ballots cast by employees of the Quality Suites and Inns located in Brantford, Ontario, who were also members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 175, opposed continuing to be represented by the union. The Board’s rules of procedure regarding the taking of the representative vote by hotel employees had been followed. No statement of desire to make representations by the parties concerning an outstanding issue in dispute had been filed with the Labour Relations Board following the vote. The Board declared that the UFCW no longer represented the hotel employees. It ordered the ballots cast in the representation vote to be destroyed following the expiration of 30 days from the date of the decision unless a statement requesting that the ballots should not be destroyed was received by the Board from one of the parties before then. Additional meetings and hearing dates were cancelled. The hotel’s management was also directed to post copies of the Board’s decision within the employment setting.

Questions:

1. Which role of government referred to in this chapter is illustrated in this case?

2. How might this situation be explained in terms of the “Framework for Labour Relations” seen in Chapter 1?

Answer 1

Answer 1:

In this case, the Labour Relations Act, as amended by the government of the country in 1995 was taken into consideration. Under this law, the Ontario Labour Relations Board was asked to consider an application for the termination of bargaining rights when no statement of desire to make representations by the parties concerning an outstanding issue in dispute had been filed with the Labour Relations Board following the vote.

Answer 2:

Framework for labour relation:

In this case, the employees of the Quality Suites and Inns located in Brantford, Ontario, who were also members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 175, opposed continuing to be represented by the union as they no longer wanted to bounded by the regulations of the union and they wanted to work according to their own decision rather than getting enforced by the decision of the union. On the basis of the request of the hotel employees, board declared that the UFCW no longer represented the hotel employees.