Strike vote

A buyer weighing disruption risk in a unionized workplace may hear that a strike vote has been held or is coming. The statute that applies decides when a vote is required and how it is run, so start with the jurisdiction.

What the statutes say

• Ontario’s Labour Relations Act, 1995, section 79: where a collective agreement is in operation, no employee bound by it shall strike. Under subsections 79(3) and (4), no employee shall strike unless a strike vote is taken within the timing those subsections set and a majority of those voting favour a strike; subsection (4) is subject to section 79.1, and subsection (5) excludes employees in the construction industry and certain maintenance employees represented by a construction-industry union. Ballots must not identify the voter.
• The federal Canada Labour Code, section 87.3: unless a lockout not prohibited by Part I has occurred, a trade union may not declare or authorize a strike without holding a secret ballot vote among the employees in the unit within a stated period and receiving the approval of the majority who voted.
• British Columbia’s Labour Relations Code, section 60: a person must not declare or authorize a strike, and an employee must not strike, until a vote on whether to strike has been taken under the regulations by the employees in the unit affected and a majority of those who vote favour a strike. Section 39 requires a trade union’s vote of its members on whether to strike to be by secret ballot.

What to ask

Ask whether a collective agreement is in operation or expiring, and what stage bargaining has reached, since Ontario ties the timing of a strike vote to those facts. See the unionized workplace checks and the collective agreement. This entry covers federal, Ontario and British Columbia law; check the rules where you are.