Certification Application Dismissed By ALRB For Union Misrepresentation

Since the advent of COVID, labour boards across the country are increasingly willing to accept electronic support evidence as part of the union certification application process. Such employee support evidence, including the identity of employees who have signed memberships or petitions, is kept confidential from employers as a protective measure. In a recent decision from the Alberta Labour Relations Board (the “Board”), unions are reminded that this protection carries a corresponding obligation to be forthright and accurate in respect of the materials filed in support of the certification application.

In General Teamsters, Local Union No. 362 v Hertz Canada Limited, 2026 ALRB 69, the Board determined that “a failure of credibility of a particular individual in a [union organizing] campaign can render unreliable all support they gather.” In a case argued by the authors John Gilmore and Nathan Fournier, the result of this “failure of credibility” on the part of the union was that