Union Unsuccessful in Asserting Successor Rights: The "Finning" Case

Mergers, acquisitions, and sales of business are common occurrences that affect the workplace. Unionized workplaces are not immune from these transactions.

Legislative provisions have been enacted across Canada to preserve collective bargaining rights when a business is sold or transferred. The intent behind the concept of "successor rights" is to prevent the disruption of bargaining rights in the midst of such transactions. The intent is not to protect against the loss of jobs.

Successor rights attach to the business unit, they do not attach to the work, the employees, or the employers.

The complexity of some transactions raises the question of whether the transfer of a business unit was intended, or, if it actually occurred. In I.A.M.A.W., Local 99 v. Finning,¹ a first panel of the Alberta Labour Relations Board came to the conclusion that successor rights applied to a joint venture business financed by Finning International Inc. which contracted work from a division of Finning.