Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their second new applications report for December 2024. In it was an application for union certification.
Local 1722 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed the application on 2 December 2024 on behalf of workers employed by Daikin Comfort Technologies Canada, ULC.
The Texas-based HVAC company also has a Canadian headquarters in Ontario, as well as offices in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer.
According to the application, IAMAW Local 1722 is applying on behalf of about 5 workers who are employed in office, clerical, and sales responsibilities at Daikin’s Calgary location, which I find interesting.
You see, Local 1722 applied for union certification at this same Daikin location in May 2023, but at the time, it was for all the workers except those ones.
The ALRB ultimately approved that application, and a majority of the workers voted in favour of unionizing. They received their certification from the ALRB in July, formed a bargaining committee, and negotiated their first contract, which the a majority of workers ratified last November.
For a union to submit a certification application, they must show support from at least 40% of the workers in that workplace. In this case, that would be only 2.
Assuming the ALRB approves the application and holds a certification vote, then those 2 workers would only need to bring on 1 more worker to meet a majority.
The ALRB has scheduled a hearing for next Monday, during which time, representatives from Daikin will have a chance to argue why they think these workers shouldn’t follow their fellow workers in joining Local 1722.
Should the application be approved and a majority of the workers vote in favour of unionizing, one of the first orders of business will be to form a bargaining committee, as their fellow Daikin workers did last year, and begin negotiating their first collective agreement with the employer.
Because the ALRB doesn’t archive their new application reports, I’ve included a copy of this one below for you convenience.
Update (9 January 2025): The ALRB issued a certificate for these workers on 19 December 2024.
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[…] 1722 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed the application last December for those employed in office, clerical, and sales responsibilities at Daikin’s Calgary […]