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Ontario Labour Relations Board Issues Decision on Certification Application for Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has issued a decision regarding an application for certification filed by the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Local 598. The application was filed on February 3, 2025, and the decision was made by Vice-Chair Mireille Giroux on February 13, 2025. The Board found that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, and that the responding party, VIP Building Restoration Ltd. and/or V.I.P. Building Restoration Inc., had failed to file its response in a timely manner.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Local 598, is a trade union within the meaning of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
  • The Board found that more than 55% of the employees in the bargaining unit were members of the applicant on the date the application was filed.
  • The responding party failed to file its response with the Board within the time stipulated by Rule 25.5 of the Board's Rules of Procedure and failed to provide the requisite information within the time stipulated by subsection 128.1(3) of the Act.
  • The Board certified the applicant as the representative bargaining agent for all construction labourers in the employ of the responding party in the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipalities of Peel and York, and other specified areas.
  • The applicant has been directed to advise the Board of its position with respect to the name of the proper responding party in this proceeding on or before February 18, 2025.
  • If the applicant wishes to pursue this application against more than one of the named responding parties, they are directed to file an application under subsection 1(4) of the Act on or before February 28, 2025.

Statistics:

  • The bargaining unit consists of all construction labourers in the employ of the responding party in the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipalities of Peel and York, and other specified areas.
  • More than 55% of the employees in the bargaining unit are members of the applicant.
  • The Board has certified the applicant as the representative bargaining agent for the bargaining unit.

Sources:

  • OLRB Case No: 2656-24-R The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Local 598, Applicant v VIP Building Restoration Ltd. and/or V.I.P. Building Restoration Inc., Responding Parties BEFORE: Mireille Giroux, Vice-Chair DECISION OF THE BOARD: February 13, 2025.

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