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Merger Process FAQ

Public sectors in Ontario are about to undergo a sustained period of change. Service integrations, restructuring and mergers are happening in several Ontario communities.

How will the mergers affect you and your CUPE collective agreement?

When the Ontario provincial government began to downsize public services through mergers and amalgamations in the municipal, school board, and hospital sectors in 1997, it passed the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act (PSLRTA) to deal with a variety of labour relations and union representation issues. PSLRTA also establishes certain rights for affected workers undergoing mergers.

When does PSLRTA apply?

When workplaces covered by PSLRTA amalgamate, merge or restructure, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) will, in consultation with the affected unions and employers, determine what bargaining units are appropriate in the new workplace.

CUPE will provide our members with information as full integration process develops.

How does PSLRTA work?

Should one union represent more than 80 percent of workers in the post-merger bargaining unit, the OLRB may simply declare that union to be the bargaining agent without a vote. Otherwise, all employees who would become members of the new bargaining unit are eligible to vote on which union they want to represent them at the new merged employer.

Potential of a "no union" option

If there are multiple unions and a “no union” option on the ballot, and no option achieves a majority of the votes, the option with the least number of votes will be dropped and a run-off vote will be conducted.

There will only be a “no union” option on the ballot if more than 40 percent of the appropriate bargaining unit were non-union prior to the merger.

How does the vote work under PSLRTA?

  • There is a secret ballot vote conducted by the OLRB.
  • Neither the employer nor the union(s) may interfere in the process or attempt to threaten or intimidate voters.
  • The vote is typically done at the workplace at a time covering most shifts.
  • There are no advance polls.
  • There are no proxy votes.
  • The winning union must receive a majority of the votes.

What happens during the workplace representation process under PSLRTA?

During this time, one step is a meeting with the Ontario Labour Relations Board between CUPE, the employer and other unions in the workplaces to determine the appropriate bargaining units and the ground rules for the representation vote.

Issues such as the length of time for the representation campaign and how the unions may access employees, including through home addresses, email lists, meetings in the workplace or space on bulletin boards, are all agreed to in advance.

What happens to your CUPE collective agreement during and after the PSLRTA process?

During the vote process, you are covered by your existing collective agreement.

It is the law that wages and benefits will not be reduced as a result of the representation vote.

Immediately after the vote, most of the provisions of your CUPE collective agreement continue to apply under a composite agreement, which will also include provisions from the other union's collective agreement that affect their former members.

However, the winning union’s collective agreement language dealing with seniority, grievance procedure, job posting, layoff, and recall will apply to everyone.