Certification (union certification)

A buyer meets the term when diligence turns up a union drive, a pending application or a certified unit. In Ontario, a trade union may apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification as bargaining agent where no union is certified for a unit it claims is appropriate and the employees in the unit are not bound by a collective agreement. The Board either certifies the union or dismisses the application. See does a union follow the business to a new owner.

How it differs by province

In British Columbia, the Labour Relations Code lets a union that claims enough members in good standing apply to the board to be certified, subject to the regulations, where no collective agreement is in force and no union is certified. Part I of the Canada Labour Code applies to employees employed on or in connection with the operation of a federal work, undertaking or business. Other provinces have their own statutes and boards.

What to ask

Ask the seller for any certificate, any pending application and any collective agreement. Under successor rights, a sale does not necessarily end a certification: in Ontario, section 69 of the Labour Relations Act says a certified union continues, until the Board otherwise declares, to be the bargaining agent for the buyer’s employees in the like bargaining unit.