ACT FAST!

IMPORTANT: To NOT be included as support for the union, your union Card Cancellation must be given to the union before the union applies to the Labour Board to unionize your workplace.

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Overview

Unions try to convince employees that being unionized is a good thing. Unions are allowed by the Ontario Labour Board and Canada’s Courts to make false promises and to lie to get you to sign a card and to vote yes.

You might see strangers outside your workplace trying to talk to employees or handing out printed documents. You might get texts, emails or direct messages on your social media account like Facebook. Other times you won’t know because the union and its employee supporters will organize in secret from employees who want to stay union-free. This is called “union organizing” or a “union drive”.

Union cards must be signed and dated at the same time. It is illegal to leave the date blank and fill it in later. Signed cards expire after 6 months but the Ontario Labour Board has allowed union cards up to 12 months after they were signed and dated.

A union must have union cards for about 40% or more of the employees it wants to unionize. If they do, the Labour Board must order a secret ballot vote.

IMPORTANT: If a union has union cards 55% or more then the union can apply to unionize employees with no Labour Board secret ballot vote.

If a union applies to the Labour Board, your workplace must post or email a Labour Board Notice. An employee who wants to object to anything has just 2 business days to do so and must follow the Notice and other Board Rules.

Whether you signed a union card or not, you may or may not get a vote that may or may not get counted by the Board.

If you don’t want to be unionized, and there is a vote – then vote NO. If you want to be unionized, vote YES.

NOTE: More key information below. We also have Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers about unionization.

What is a Union?

A union is an organization that unionizes employees and then tries to negotiate a collective agreement (contract) with the employer about your employment.

Union Dues and Other Fees

Employees MUST pay the union an amount of money that your employer MUST take from your pay and send it directly to the union – these are “Union Dues”. Unions may also be able to make you pay Initiation Fees and Special Assessments.

What Does it Mean to be Unionized?

Once unionized, you will need to go to the union with your workplace concerns. You lose a lot of your ability to work with your employer for things that are covered by the collective agreement. You may or may not get to vote “yes” or “no” in a union-run vote to approve or reject a collective agreement (called a “ratification vote”). A collective agreement can be forced upon the employees by the Labour Board.

IMPORTANT: In Ontario employees who do Construction Work may not always get a chance to vote yes or no in a union run vote about a collective agreement. Unions and employers are allowed to agree to a collective agreement without always having to have a union-run vote to say yes or no to a collective agreement. They can also agree to have a person called an Arbitrator decide on a collective agreement and force it onto employees without a union-run ratification vote.

What is a Union Card?

A union card is a piece of paper or an online electronic form that unions want employees to sign. It makes you a union Member. As an actual union Member, you must obey internal union rules or you could lose your Membership. The union may be able to force your employer to terminate your employment if you do not become a Member or lose your Membership. If you sign a union card, make sure you get a copy for yourself. Take a picture with a cell phone.

Union cards are legal contracts. Sometimes union cards are an application by you to become a Member in the union or they might make you a Member immediately. Sometimes, after a union gets into the workplace, all unionized employees are forced to become Members of the union to keep their job. If you refuse to become a Member the union can make your employer terminate you.

What Does it Mean to Cancel a Card?

Cancelling a card means you signed a union card to support the union and have changed your mind. The card can only be cancelled if your Card Cancellation document is sent to the union before the union files its Application.

NOTE: Unions in Canada have given Labour Boards union cards that were never signed by employees. This is “card fraud”. The Ontario Labour Board has no process to check with every employee to find out about this illegal activity so unions don’t get caught. If you find out a union is organizing, and you know you do not want to be unionized then do a Card Cancellation, send it to the union - and keep a copy as proof, even if you have not signed a union card.

Why Cancel a Union Card?

Deciding whether you want to be unionized is a personal choice. Employees cancel cards for many reasons. You might choose to cancel because:

• You didn’t realize what it meant to sign a union card.
• You find out you were lied to when you signed.
• The promises the union made are too good to be true or you find out they are false.
• The union or its supporters scared or threatened you to sign a card.
• You didn’t realize that you will have to pay for the union.
• You like your workplace and don’t want a union speaking for you.
• You don’t want to work where there might be a strike or a lock-out (no work).
• You don’t want to have to go on strike or be locked out of work and maybe have to walk on a “picket line” (walk outside the workplace with a sign).
• You don’t want to work where there are seniority rights - where employees who have been employed longer get the most benefits instead of employees who work the hardest.

How Do You Cancel Your Card

Contact the union in writing so that you have proof of your Cancellation. Tell the union in writing as soon as you decide to cancel your union card so that it doesn’t count towards the 40% support the union needs to apply to try to unionize your workplace. Use our LabourWatch Form and instructions.

We suggest that you send copies of the Cancellation of Union Membership or Application for Membership or the Petition Form you used to the Labour Board and to the union.

Was Your Cancelled Card Still Used?

You may never ever be able to find out if a union card with your name on it was filed by the union (whether signed by you or signed by someone else – an illegal action known as “card fraud”).

If you think a union used your cancelled card, contact the Labour Board within 2 days of when the union applied. Ask that the union’s evidence be checked by the Labour Board for “fraud or misrepresentation”. Follow the instructions on the Notice from the Labour Board at your work and call them to understand the steps you must take.

If the union used your cancelled card, then the union has acted dishonestly (“card fraud”). Your cancellation must be received by the union before it applies. You are also welcome to contact LabourWatch if you are going to challenge a union about cancelled cards that you know you sent to the union about before the union applied to the Labour Board.

If you are afraid to tell the union you want to cancel your card, you should call the Labour Board saying you signed a card; you want to cancel or revoke your card and why you are scared to tell the union; and also tell the Board the name of your employer and the union.

You Cancelled Your Card – But There is Still a Vote

Even if you cancel your card, there may still be a vote because the union reached the 40% to less than 55% level. Don’t worry, cancelling your card does not mean you don’t get to vote. The question at the vote will be something like: Do you want to be represented by the (union name)? Voting “NO” is the only way to try and stop the union from unionizing your workplace.