OLRB comments on employer support and proper communications during raiding season

The Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB” or “Board”) recently found that an employer did not collude with the Allied Construction Employees Local 1030, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (“Carpenters”) to displace the rights of the Universal Workers’ Union, Labourers’ International Union of North America, Local 183 (“Labourers”). Central to the issue was…

Paul Broad Quoted in Canadian Lawyer Magazine

Hicks Morley’s Paul Broad was quoted in the October 24, 2011 edition of Canadian Lawyer magazine. In an article entitled “An odd, but sensible, ruling,” Paul comments on the October 17, 2011 decision of OLRB Chair Bernard Fishbein, authorizing a former Vice Chair of the OLRB to continue to preside over an ongoing certification application…

School Board Update – ECE Representation Disputes: OLRB Sidesteps Arbitration Award

In York Region District School Board, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) considered an application for certification by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (“ETFO”) to represent the Board’s designated early childhood educators (“DECEs”). In this case, an arbitrator had already determined that the Board’s DECEs were included in an office, clerical, technical and educational…

School Board Update – ETFO Organizing Campaign

As you know, the Ministry of Education’s Early Learning Program requires boards to hire designated early childhood educators (“DECEs”) to work alongside teachers in delivering the Program to junior kindergarten and kindergarten pupils. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (“ETFO”) has recently made it clear that it will seek to represent the designated early childhood…

School Board Update – Ontario’s 2010 Early Learning Program: Bracing for the Fallout

When was the last time your Board was involved in the legal “ins and outs” of a hotly contested certification drive before the Ontario Labour Relations Board? Ontario’s newly announced Early Learning Program could well provide you with an opportunity in the coming year. In this School Board Update, we discuss the ramifications and new…

Municipalities Exposed To Construction Collective Agreements

In a recent decision, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) held that key non-construction employer provisions of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”) were unconstitutional. In this FTR Now, we discuss how the decision could have an impact on the ability of municipalities to tender construction work. BACKGROUND The construction industry labour relations…

School Boards Exposed To Construction Collective Agreements

In a recent decision, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) held that key non-construction employer provisions of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”) were unconstitutional.  In this FTR Now, we discuss how the decision could have an impact on school boards’ ability to tender construction work. Background The construction industry labour relations regime…