hrpd709 industrial relations organizing and establishing bargaining rights

The purpose of this simulation is to enable participants to gain firsthand knowledge and experience of how union representation is achieved in the workplace under the Ontario Labour Relations Act (OLRA). Key aspects of this process include the union organizing drive, the application for certification and finally an Ontario Labour Relations Broad (OLRB) supervised representation vote. In addition, students will be exposed to employer strategies for responding to unionism, the regulative role of the state in the certification process, the formal process through which certification is achieved, as well as the internal democratic system of the union.
Step 1 The purpose of this step in the exercise is to generate a thorough discussion of the arguments for and against becoming a union member and the case for and against unions in general.
A. The class will be divided into an equal number of groups consisting of four to five members in each. Half of the groups are designated as management, the other half as union. Each management group will be paired with a union group.
The Management group will assert that in contemporary Canada, unions have outlived their usefulness and are no longer required. The union groups will assert that in contemporary Canada, unions have not outlived their usefulness and indeed are required more than ever given the challenges of the modern world.
Both sides are expected to use facts, arguments, emotional appeals, etc. to support their respective positions. For this part of the exercise, your personal beliefs are irrelevant and should be set aside. This is not an integrative, problem solving, activity; the purpose is to win.
B. Now switch! Groups that were previously management are now union and groups that were previously union are now management. Each management group will be paired with a union group. You must face a group that is different from the one you faced previously.
The Management group will assert that in contemporary Canada, unions have outlived their usefulness and are no longer required. The union groups will assert that in contemporary Canada, unions have not outlived their usefulness and indeed are required more than ever given the challenges of the modern world.
Both sides are expected to use facts, arguments, emotional appeals, etc. to support their respective positions. For this part of the exercise, your personal beliefs are irrelevant and should be set aside. This is not an integrative, problem solving, activity; the purpose is to win.
Step 2 The purpose of this step in the exercise is to gain firsthand knowledge and experience of a union organizing drive.
A. The instructor will ask for five (5) Union Stewards to volunteer from the workplace (the class). Each Steward will assist with the signing of union membership cards. Stewards will be expected to persuade potential workers (students) to sign-up for union membership. Stewards will present a membership card and potential members will provide their signature as the test to meet membership status. All membership cards will be collected and filed in an envelope to be checked against the workplace list (class list) to verify eligibility for membership. The envelope containing membership cards will be forwarded along with the list to the OLRB as evidence for certification.
Step 3 The purpose of this step in the exercise is to organize and complete a union certification application.
A. The workplace (the class) will be divided up into five groups. A Steward from each group will assist in filling out the application paperwork. Once the paperwork has been completed, each Steward will submit their application along with the envelope of signed membership cards and the workplace list (class list), to the OLRB for formal application of certification.
Step 4 The purpose of this step in the exercise is to gain firsthand knowledge and experience of the representation vote process.
A. If the union is able to prove to the OLRB, that 40% of the students in the class have signed cards indicating that they wish to be represented by the applicant union, a representation vote will be ordered, The formal representation vote will be held within five business days following application. Each potential member (student) will have the opportunity to vote by secret ballot.
Post-Simulation Evaluation (Report):
The written report for this simulation involves a combination of group and individual submissions as indicated. At minimum, your report should address the following questions:
Group Submission:
1. The case for and against unions:
a Summarize the arguments you heard for and against unions playing an important role in the modern Canadian workplace. Any relevant facts, arguments, emotional appeals, etc. should be included.

b What arguments did you find most convincing on both sides of the debate?
c Did any of your group change their opinions during this part of the simulation? Why?
2 Certification Application:

a After reviewing ONTARIO LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD INFORMATION BULLETIN NO. 1 Certification of Trade Unions (http://www.olrb.gov.on.ca/english/infob/infbul01.pdf)
Discuss the process in terms of its formality, complexity and time requirements.
b Using a flow-chart diagram, describe all the steps in the OLRA Certification Process. Please note: The current representation vote model uses union membership cards to determine if the application should proceed to a vote. Do not confuse this with the membership card or card check approach which allows for certification based on a certain percentage of signed membership cards and does not usually require a vote unless the wishes of employees are not clear, such as a situation in which only 51% of the proposed bargaining unit have signed union cards.
c Describe one legal union strategy and one legal management strategy that you might expect to observe during the organizing campaign/ certification process.
In your opinion, how effective are each of these strategies likely to be?
d Describe one illegal union behaviour and one illegal management behaviour (unfair labour practices) that you might observe during an organizing campaign. In your opinion, how effective are these strategies likely to be?
e What are the consequences of being found guilty of unfair labour practices by the Ontario Labour Relations Board during the organizing campaign/ certification process? Evaluate the effectiveness and equitability of the various remedies available to the Board.
f As a group, what is the single most important thing that you learned about the certification process?

3. Policy Analysis

a Compare and contrast the card method vs. the mandatory representation vote approach to determining if a union is certified.
b What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?
c Are current OLRA requirements an effective way to determine the true wishes of employees concerning union representation?
d Evaluate the criteria is currently used by the OLRB to determine bargaining unit composition.

e. What are the consequences of using these criteria (5d) for collective bargaining?

f In conclusion, what changes, if any, would you recommend be made to the framework used to determine if a union gains bargaining rights. Explain your answer.

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