Deck 6: Establishing Union Recognition

Question 1

What is the minimum number of positive votes required in a representation vote in most jurisdictions in order for a certification to be successful?

A) 50 percent
B) 35 percent
C) 50 percent + 1
D) 60 percent

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What potentially happens to the union/employer relationship when a business merges or expands its operations?

A) The labour board determines if this is a situation of "successorship"
B) All of the new employees cannot belong to the existing union
C) All of the new employees must join the existing union
D) Nothing. It is business as usual.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Who conducts a representation vote in the workplace?

A) The employer
B) The union
C) The employer and the union jointly
D) The labour relations board

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When do most unfair labour practices tend to occur?

A) During the decertification process
B) During the collective bargaining process
C) During the certification process
D) In the few weeks following arbitration decisions

Question 5

Which of the following actions is not con

A) Demoting or disciplining union supporters
B) Employees' heated discussions about unionization
C) Intimidating employees into rejecting the union
D) Firing union supporters

Question 6

Which of the following would constitute a reason for the labour relations board to waive the application bar?

A) The employer has erred in its determination of the appropriate bargaining unit
B) The union has committed an unfair labour practice
C) The employer has filed for bankruptcy protection
D) The union has inadvertently erred in its application

Question 7

In some Canadian jurisdictions, the labour relations board may impose a certification order without the required percentage of employee support. Which of these circumstances is most likely to cause them to do so?

A) If the vote was not conducted properly
B) If employer intimidation caused union supporters to fear voting in favour of certification
C) If an insufficient number of employees attended the vote
D) All of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is one reason why the certification process was established?

A) To provide an alternative other than striking for employees to express their concerns
B) To eliminate the occurrence of unfair labour practices
C) To increase union dues
D) All of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is not a reason that union raids occur?

A) The employees already have the work experience of a unionized environment
B) The organizing campaign is not usually aggressive
C) The organizing campaign is less costly
D) The employer goes out seeking a new union

Question 10

Who has the ultimate responsibility for determining the appropriate bargaining unit?

A) The union
B) The employer
C) The labour relations board
D) An arbitrator selected by the two parties

Question 11

When a certification application is received, the employer must post a notice in the workplace. Which of the following is not typically contained in the notice?

A) The name of the union which is applying for certification
B) A description of the proposed bargaining unit
C) An indication that the interested parties can make submissions about the application
D) Names of union supporters

Question 12

Which of the following is not an option available to a labour relations board after a hearing has been conducted?

A) Rejecting the certification application
B) Altering the bargaining unit's composition to one it considers appropriate
C) Inviting another union to compete for the employees' support
D) Ordering a new representation vote

Question 13

Why are there more complaints against employers than against unions for engaging in unfair labour practices during certification?

A) Unions have less power to intimidate employees
B) Unions have a rule against coercion
C) The employer is an easy target for these complaints
D) Union constitutions require them to adhere to all rules of organizing or face decertification

Question 14

Which of the following is not a potential remedy which might be applied by a labour relations board in the case of an unfair labour practice?

A) A make whole order
B) Ordering the union to be reimbursed for any extra organizing expenses incurred in combating anti-union activity by the employer
C) Ordering the reinstatement of employees who were disciplined because of anti-union animus
D) Sentencing the offending party to a jail term

Question 15

The legal effect of a union or employer successfully applying for decertification is what?

A) The employer goes out of business
B) The end of the union/employer relationship
C) The union has a "successorship" application in mind
D) The employees must conclude employment contracts on their own

Question 16

What is the usual procedure if a union changes its status by merging with another union?

A) To advise the labour board of the change
B) To unilaterally incorporate the change into the certification documents
C) To apply for certification under the new name to represent the same bargaining unit
D) To amend the collective agreement accordingly

Question 17

When examining an allegation of an unfair labour practice, which of the following is not one of the considerations taken into account by a labour relations board?

A) The existence of anti-employer animus
B) The effect of the alleged unfair labour practice
C) The existence of anti-union animus
D) The motive behind the alleged unfair labour practice

Question 18

Most Canadian labour codes set limits or time bars. What is the purpose of these time bars?

A) To restrict the time within which union organizing efforts can take place
B) To eliminate the possibility of unions raiding one another
C) To reduce the potential for unfair labour practices
D) To speed up the certification process

Question 19

Who is covered by a certification order?

A) All employees
B) All employees in the bargaining unit
C) All employees who are not considered management personnel
D) All employees who voted in favour of unionization

Question 20

When does assessing levels of employee support for a union become complicated?

A) When the signatures are printed and not written
B) When there has been a delay between getting the signatures and submitting the application
C) When employees supporting the union are contemplating leaving the employer
D) When the employer asserts that the signatures are fraudulent

Question 21

When a certification application is received by a labour relations board, an official notification is sent to both the employer and the employees.

Question 22

Why has the certification process been formalized in legislation?

A) To ensure that employees are not forced to accept organization in a rushed manner
B) To make sure that dissatisfied employees are not rash in applying for decertification or certification
C) To make certification a realistic alternative to a strike
D) To make certain that rules are followed by all parties

Question 23

Labour boards have wide powers to issue remedial orders in cases of alleged unfair labour practices, including the issuance of cease and desist orders.

Question 24

Legislation dealing with unfair labour practices seeks to

A) Balance the rights of the employer and the employee during an organizing campaign.
B) Create the power imbalance between the employer and the employee.
C) Legitimize the employer's actions and statements in an organizing campaign.
D) Place a quasi-gag order on employer speech during the campaign.

Question 25

A union can circumvent the application bar by withdrawing their original application for certification for non-technical reasons.

Question 26

What issue gave rise to the SIAST Faculty Association's claim that the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology's actions constituted unfair labour practice?

A) The Institute was against the formation of another similar union
B) The Association's union drive was disrupted without due process
C) The Institute denied the Association the right to rent rooms
D) The Institute denied the Association access to faculty in order to form a new labour organization

Question 27

Regulating workplace behaviour is difficult because the rights of the employees must be the paramount consideration.

Question 28

In all Canadian jurisdictions, a representation vote occurs only when all of the issues related to the certification application have been resolved.

Question 29

The question on the ballot for a representation vote is a simple yes or no question asking voters if they want the union to be one of their bargaining agents.

Question 30

What must the employer do when a notice of application is received from the labour relations board?

Question 31

Though open periods vary by jurisdiction, a certification application can generally only be made during specified times during the term of a multi-year agreement or within a certain period toward the end of the term of a single year agreement.

Question 32

What is the 'terminal date'?

A) The date when the notice must be taken down
B) The date that the application becomes null and void
C) The date that the Board must receive the submissions
D) The date that the employees must be formally notified of the application

Question 33

Some unions refrain from conducting raids on principle in the belief that the employees' original choice of union should be respected.

Question 34

The representation vote is conducted by

A) A show of hands
B) Secret ballot
C) Mail in vote
D) Only those in attendance can vote

Question 35

How does the labour board assess the level of support for the application?

A) It looks at the delays between the application and collecting the signatures
B) It compared the employer's list of employees with the union's list of application supporters
C) It makes a judgment on the readability of the signatures
D) It determines whether the signatures are legitimate and valid

Question 36

During an organizing campaign, an employer cannot communicate directly with employees.

Question 37

The labour board has the option of holding a hearing during the assessment of the certification application. When does it usually exercise this option?

A) When the employer is angry
B) If there is a dispute over the content of the application
C) If it believes that the union is an improper bargaining agent
D) When the employees ask for it

Question 38

What are 'open periods'?

A) The time at the end of the collective agreement
B) The time during which an application for certification of already represented workers can be made
C) The mid-point in a multi-year agreement
D) The time during which certification applications must be received by the board

Question 39

Failure to adhere to an order by a labour relations board which has been filed with the provincial court can lead to a judgement of contempt of court.

Question 40

What facilitates union raiding?

A) More educated employees
B) Fewer public sector jobs
C) No labour legislation explicitly forbids raiding
D) The flourishing of highly aggressive unions

Question 41

What standard of proof is required when presenting one's case to a labour relations board regarding an unfair labour practice?

Question 42

Canadian labour codes allow employers to express their views about unionization and communicate with their employees. What are the limitations to these rights?

Question 43

Why do labour relations boards generally attempt to minimize the time between an application being made and a representation vote being conducted?

Question 44

Explain why it is important for the labour relations boards to remain sensitive to the power imbalance between the employer and the employees. (167-168)

Question 45

What is the effect of the issuance of certification by a labour relations board?

Question 46

Why would a labour board hold a hearing during the application for certification? What form would such a hearing take? (155)

Question 47

Discuss 'time bars' and why they are significant to the Certification process. (154)

Question 48

Can a union lose its certification by virtue of the company being sold or merged with another company? Explain your answer.

Question 49

What is an unfair labour practice in the context of an organizing campaign?

Question 50

Describe some of the basic principles in Canadian labour law which allow workers to fulfill their desire to become and remain unionized.

Question 51

What is an application bar?

Question 52

Describe some unfair labour practices which might be used by unions and employers to influence the outcome of a certification attempt.

Question 53

Who may initiate a raid in the context of a union certification?

Question 54

In the context of a union certification, what is a raid?