Employer Rights During A Unionization Campaign: More Than You Think! | The HR Space

In Québec, as in other Canadian jurisdictions, when a union applies for certification to represent a group of employees, the employer is not left without rights or remedies. It may carry on business as usual and it has a number of tools at its disposal by which to oppose the application, including challenging the composition of the bargaining unit proposed by the union. However, the employer has the heavy burden of proving not that there is a more appropriate unit than the one proposed by the union, but that the proposed unit is actually inappropriate in the specific context of the company. On the other hand, if the union files an application for unfair labour practice to challenge a decision made by the employer after the application for certification is filed, the union will have the burden of proving that the employer's decision was tainted by anti-union animus.