Everyone knows that workers are better off with union protection, but most workers are unsure about how to bring a union into their workplace.  Below you'll find some Frequently Asked Questions.

Q: Am I allowed to have a Union?
A: Yes, it is your legal right to have a Union of your choosing.

Q: How can I get a Union into my workplace?
A: Call or email CEP Local 2003 today and we would be happy to talk to you about it. Basically the majority of your group needs to sign union membership cards, then we file an application with Labour Board following which a vote will be held in your workplace and when the majority of those voting vote yes, you have a Union and bargaining with the company begins.

Q: Will the company find out who has signed a Union card?
A: NO, the law is very clear on this; the company is never told who signs a card. Your privacy is very important to us.

Q: Can the company interfere with my right to have a Union?
A: NO, the law says that they can not interfere with your right to have a Union.

Q: Is a company allowed to threaten or intimidate employees if it wants to stop unionization?
A: No, this is illegal, and in our experience, most companies are sophisticated enough not to resort to intimidation. However company lawyers will advise managers to make statements that spark fear about strikes or job loss or plant closure or tough bargaining by the employer. These types of things are meant to scare you from joining a union and getting the benefits you deserve.

Q: What can we negotiate into our union collective agreement?
A: Almost anything can be bargained into a union collective agreement, pay raises, job protection, benefits, improved health and safety.

Q: Will I pay union dues?
A: YES, union dues are the way that a union pays for all the services it provides like professional Representatives to bargain good collective agreements, legal bills for fighting issues that are important to your group etc.

Q: What is a union collective agreement?
A: A union collective agreement is simply a book of rules that both the company and the union must abide by and if either break those rules an arbitrator (similar to a judge) has the power to punish the offender and fix it.

Q: Who bargains with the company to get a union collective agreement?
A: Your group democratically elects a union bargaining committee who accompanies your National Representative to the table to negotiate.

Q: Do I have a say in what gets bargained?
A: YES, we would collect proposals from everyone which; would then form the basis and direction of the bargaining. Bargaining is not complete until your group democratically votes that they are happy with the results.

Q: Can an individual department be unionized or does the whole company have to be organized at one time?
A: This is always a tough question to answer unless we have more information about your group. In the case of Stationary Engineers, unlike most others, the Labour Board will allow certification of a union representing just the stationary engineers. In a case like a shopping mall where you have security and maintenance staff etc... they would likely be in different groups.

Q: Who makes the decisions in CEP?
A: CEP Local 2003 is run by its members. Voting members at convention elect officers to sit on the Executive Board, voting takes place at the Local convention every two years. The executive of CEP Local 2003 make decisions on financial and policy matters.

Q: What does it cost to belong to CEP?
A: Union dues are 1.67% of gross salary, and are taken by payroll deduction, like CPP premiums. Union dues are not paid by new members until the union has signed a contract with the company. Union dues are fully tax deductible.

Q: Does the company have to bargain fairly with the Union?
A: Yes. Even hard-nosed companies must comply with the law. Ontario labour law requires a company to bargain in good faith with a union and make all reasonable efforts to reach a contract. The Ontario Labour Relations Board is the group that enforces that. A company that bargains unreasonably is subject to binding arbitration by an independent adjudicator to settle a first union contract.

Q: Are union strikes common?
A: No. The great majority of contracts are achieved through dispute-free negotiation. But if the members at a particular workplace are not willing to accept an inferior settlement they can decide to take a strike vote. A strike vote raises the stakes in negotiations, and contracts are often settled after a strike vote but before a strike. No strike can occur without a majority vote by secret ballot.

Q: What will be in our union contract?
A: That depends on what the members want. The members at your workplace will determine their own priorities, and negotiations will reflect those priorities. Members have the right to ratify any settlement that is reached, by secret ballot vote. However, it is fair to say that most newly organized groups negotiate contracts that are similar to those negotiated in similar-sized unionized publications.

Q: Are some employees not eligible to be unionized?
A: Any full-time or part time employee is eligible. However, labour laws exclude from unionization anyone who exercises managerial authority, including for example, the authority to hire and fire. Often we have disagreements with companies over who is managerial and the labour board has to decide. We usually argue that anyone who wants to be protected by a union should have that right.

Q: Will CEP protect incompetent employees?
A: No. CEP will not protect any member who is incompetent or guilty of gross misconduct. But in a unionized environment, a company cannot simply fire someone without having adequate grounds and being able to prove its case that firing is justified. If an employee believes he or she has been treated unfairly, the employee has a right to union representation; if the union believes a case can be made, we will pursue it.

Q: Why should I join a union if my boss is treating me OK?
A: For a lot of reasons. To start with, your boss today may not be your boss tomorrow. Without a union contract, you have no guarantee that your wages and working conditions will not be undercut by a new boss -- or for that matter, by a new owner.  Collective agreements are like pensions, they grow substantially over time, the sooner you get in the better.