Order No.: 11673-U
IN THE MATTER OF THE
Canada Labour Code
- and -
Teamsters Local Union No. 938,
applicant,
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Thunder Airlines Limited,
Thunder Bay, Ontario,
employer.
WHEREAS the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Board) has received an application for certification pursuant to section 24(1) of the Canada Labour Code (the Code) from the Teamsters Local Union No. 938 seeking certification as bargaining agent for a unit of employees of Thunder Airlines Limited;
AND WHEREAS the employer is opposed to this application and requests that it be dismissed;
AND WHEREAS the employer states that the three separate geographic locations of Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Timmins, out of which its business operates, are significantly distant from one another and are effectively three distinct operations, such that to certify one bargaining unit would impede the collective bargaining process, the union’s ability to serve its membership and the employer’s ability to administratively operate its business and it would invite labour relations instability;
AND WHEREAS the employer states that the pilots at these three geographic locations perform different roles with different responsibilities, have different schedules, pay structures and training, have little to no mobility amongst the three locations and, as such, do not share a community of interest with one another;
AND WHEREAS the employer states, in the alternative, that the Board should limit the membership to specific bargaining units representing the individual bases;
AND WHEREAS the employer requests an oral hearing of this application;
AND WHEREAS section 16.1 of the Code provides that the Board may decide any matter before it without holding an oral hearing and, having reviewed all of the material on file, the Board is satisfied that the documentation before it is sufficient for it to determine this matter without an oral hearing;
AND WHEREAS section 27(1) of the Code provides the Board with exclusive jurisdiction to determine the bargaining unit appropriate for collective bargaining;
AND WHEREAS the Board has taken into account the objectives of the Code as set forth in Coastal Shipping Limited, 2005 CIRB 309, at paragraph 30, which include (1) the encouragement of free collective bargaining; (2) the fostering of industrial stability; and (3) the respect for the wishes of the employees;
AND WHEREAS the Board has taken into account the relevant factors in the determination of an appropriate bargaining unit, including the community of interest of the members of the proposed bargaining unit, the viability of the unit, the employer’s organizational structure, the industry practice and employee wishes;
AND WHEREAS, when it receives an application for certification respecting a new bargaining unit, the Board considers what the employees themselves identify as a proposed unit encompassing similar functions and working conditions, as explained in Coastal Shipping Limited, at paragraphs 29 and 30;
AND WHEREAS, in its decision in Canadian Helicopters Limited doing business as Canadian Helicopters Offshore, 2018 CIRB 891 (Canadian Helicopters), the Board was asked to certify the applicant union to represent a regional bargaining unit of pilots;
AND WHEREAS, in Canadian Helicopters, the Board granted the application and certified the applicant union to represent the pilots, notwithstanding the fact that the pilots in the proposed bargaining unit were variously engaged in different tasks for the employer;
AND WHEREAS the Board has determined that notwithstanding that each base of the employer provides different services and the geographic distance between work operations, the proposed bargaining unit is appropriate for collective bargaining;
AND WHEREAS the Board has determined that the casual employee proposed for exclusion by the employer has been a casual employee of the employer of a sufficiently long duration and, as such, shares a sufficient community of interest with the other pilots in the proposed bargaining unit;
AND WHEREAS the Board is satisfied that the degree of mobility and transfer of employees between bases and their different schedules and different rates of compensation are not inconsistent with those employees sharing a community of interest for the purpose of collective bargaining;
AND WHEREAS the parties agree that four employees occupying the positions of operations manager, chief pilot, assistant chief pilot and president exercise managerial functions and should therefore be excluded from the bargaining unit;
AND WHEREAS, following investigation of the application and consideration of the submissions of the parties concerned, the Board has found the applicant to be a trade union within the meaning of the Code, has determined the unit described hereunder to be appropriate for collective bargaining and is satisfied that the membership evidence is reliable and sufficient and demonstrates that a majority of the employees of the employer in the unit wish to have the applicant trade union represent them as their bargaining agent.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is ordered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board that the Teamsters Local Union No. 938 be, and it is hereby certified to be, the bargaining agent for a unit comprising:
all pilots employed by Thunder Airlines Limited in Ontario flying in or out of Thunder Bay, Timmins or Sudbury (Garson), excluding supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, personal care paramedics, advanced care paramedics, cargo and baggage handlers, mechanics, maintenance staff, office and clerical employees, ticket agents and those covered by existing collective agreements.
ISSUED at Ottawa, this 17th day of January, 2022, by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Ginette Brazeau
Chairperson
Reference: File No. 035234-C