Labour Relations Board seals ballot box

Why has the ballot box been sealed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board?

• The university does not have the power to unseal the ballot box, which was ordered sealed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. This is a matter addressed under the Labour Relations Act (OLRA), section 8.1.
• There were 431 people on the voters list and 309 that cast a ballot. Forty-six of these votes have been segregated as the names have been challenged by either the university or the union. The significant majority of these challenges have been made by the union.
• As per Section 8.1 of the ORLA, the Ontario Labour Relations Board seals the ballot box until all matters in dispute are addressed.
• A Regional Certification Meeting is scheduled to be held in Toronto on Nov. 27 at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
• The purpose of this meeting is to try and settle any disputes regarding the proposed bargaining unit or eligible voters with the assistance of a Labour Relations Officer. A hearing will be held at some future point in time if the parties are not able to reach agreement. The ballot box remains sealed until the Ontario Labour Relations Board determines otherwise.
• One outstanding issue is whether the union included the required number of signed union cards with the application to be entitled to have the vote counted. A union must file signed union membership cards accounting for at least 40% of those in its proposed bargaining unit. If the Ontario Labour Relations Board determines that the union did not meet this threshold, then the ballots will not be counted and the application will be dismissed.
• If this threshold is satisfied, the ballots will be counted. If more than 50% of the votes cast are in favour of the union, the union will be certified by the Ontario Labour Relations Board to represent Laurier's Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs).
• If the vote is not in favour of the union, the application will be dismissed and there will be a one-year bar on the filing of any further certification applications for the GTAs.
• While this process before the Labour Board continues and in the interim, all current terms and conditions of employment will remain in effect.