Assignment 4 accounts for 20% of the final grade and requires analysis of a case regarding collective bargaining rights during an industrial dispute. Students must submit an essay of no more than 1,500 words addressing specific questions based on the case study of Airtex manufacturing and its lockout of unionized employees. The assignment explores the rights and duties of involved parties under provincial labor relations legislation.

1. Assignment 4 is worth 20% of your final grade. This assignment
should be submitted after you have completed the readings and
learning activities for Unit 6.
Assignment 4 assesses your understanding, analysis, and
practical application of the law as it relates to the exercise of
bargaining rights.
In Assignment 4, you are expected to analyze and form a
number of conclusions on a case in which collective bargaining
rights are tested, as they are so often, by an industrial dispute.
Read the following case study, and study the questions that
appear at the end of the case.
Then, combine your answers to these questions in an essay that
does not exceed 1,500 words.
Once you have successfully completed and submitted your
assignment, you are welcome to contact your academic expert to
find out what happened next in the case.
A Note on This Case
This case is summarized from an actual complaint to the Alberta
Labour Relations Board,
UFCW
1118
v
.
Airtex
Manufacturing Partnership,
[1991] Alta. L.R.B.R. 783. The names of the complainants and
the respondents have not been changed, but some facts and
descriptions have been modified.

2. Reading the Alberta Board’s award is unlikely to help you
complete this assignment. Legislation in Alberta has changed
and you may well be covered by different legislation. And
labour relations boards can also be wrong!
The Case in Brief
The employer (Airtex) has commenced a lawful lockout of its
employees before the bargaining agent (the union) was able to
commence a lawful strike. Airtex has announced that it will lift
the lockout after one day and employees are expected to return
to work under interim working conditions. It has threatened
dismissal for employees who do not return to work under the
interim conditions.
The interim conditions have been set out in a detailed booklet
resembling a collective agreement. The interim conditions,
however, omit all references to the union embodied in the
employer’s proposal: the recognition clause, union security
clause, grievance procedure, non-discrimination clause, and
provisions for union communication with employees. The union
has complained that among other things, Airtex has violated its
duty to bargain in good faith, has interfered with the union’s
representation of employees, and has refused to employ
employees because they are exercising their rights under the
Labour Relations Code
.
The Issue
Under provincial labour relations legislation, what are the
respective rights and duties of employees, the union, and the
employer as they work through the lockout and agreement?
The Case in Detail
For purposes of this case, assume that the date is December 12,

3. 1993.
Airtex Manufacturing Partnership makes air conditioning
equipment under the name Engineered Air. United Food and
Commercial Workers Local 1118 (the union) represents
Engineer Air's plant employees. The union has taken over as
bargaining agent from an employee association recently,
following a contentious certification. The union and Engineered
Air are now negotiating toward a new collective agreement.
On December 2, the company gave the union the following
notice of lockout:
NOTICE OF LOCKOUT
This is written notice pursuant to Section XX of the
Labour Relations Code
locking out all the employees represented by Local 1118 and
employed by Airtex Manufacturing Partnership. This lockout
will commence at 6 a.m., Friday, Dec. 6, 1993, at all Company
plants.
Take notice that the lockout will include, without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, any or all activities within the
definition of the term “lockout” as defined in the
Labour Relations Code
.
All employees represented by Local 1118 will be locked out
from 6 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, 1993, to 6 a.m. on Saturday, Dec.
7, 1993. All employees will be instructed to report for their
normal shift commencing Monday, Dec. 9, 1993. Employees
who do not report to work will be considered to have abandoned
their employment and to have terminated their employment with
the Company for not having reported for work.

4. The existing Collective Agreement will terminate at the
commencement of the lockout. Interim employment conditions
will be implemented by the Company for the duration of the
dispute. A copy of these employment conditions is included for
your reference.
The Company will continue benefit coverage and Company
contributions to benefits at this stage of the lockout. The
Company reserves the right to discontinue premium payments at
any time during the lockout. We request a written reply from
the Union by Dec. 16 respecting your position on remitting
premiums in respect of all employees covered by benefits
should the Company discontinue payments. If the Union is
prepared to pay the full premiums in advance, benefits will be
continued as provided in Section XXX of the
Labour Relations Code
.
Relevant Facts
The parties agree on some basic facts, and the documentary
evidence discloses others:
·
The parties were bound by a collective agreement originally
entered into between Engineered Air and The Engineered Air
Employees’ Association. This agreement included a nominal
expiry date of November 30, 1993.
·
Prior to serving lockout notice, the company engaged in serious
collective bargaining with the union and it has stated its
intention to continue to do so after the lockout.

5. ·
The employer proposed terms for a new five-year collective
agreement on November 8. The union proposed terms for a two-
year collective agreement on November 27.
·
The company’s lockout notice, dated December 2, was not
served until after all the legal prerequisites under the
Labour Relations Code
—for example, notice to commence collective bargaining
served, mandatory mediation completed, cooling-off period
expired—had been met.
·
The union elected not to pursue its right to apply for a strike
vote until December 4, two days after the company served its
legal lockout notice.
·
The union’s strike vote is scheduled for December 12. If
members vote in favour of the strike action, the earliest the
union could strike would be December 16.
·
Along with the lockout notice, Engineered Air gave each

6. bargaining unit employee a two-page
Employee Information Bulletin
with questions and answers about the lockout. It also gave
employees a detailed 10-page booklet entitled
Engineered Air Employment Conditions
.
Proposed Employment Conditions
As mentioned, the employer accompanied its lockout notice
with a sophisticated set of
Employment Conditions
and an
Employee Information Bulletin
. They are important because of the things they include or omit,
but even more they are important because of the impression they
create for employees.
The union and employer have both tabled full proposals that the
other side so far refuses to accept. The employer’s last proposal
forms the basis for its
Employment Conditions
document, but this document is stripped of virtually all
reference to the role of the union in the workplace. To some
extent, this is because the document does not purport to be a
collective agreement, nor can it be. However, as the following
summary will show, many of the deleted employer proposals go
to the heart of the union’s role as a bargaining agent, a role that
continues whether a collective agreement is in place or not. In
each case, the clauses referred to below are in the employer’s
original proposal but have been deleted or amended
significantly to remove any references to the union in the
proposed
Employment Conditions
. All the clauses had been agreed to in bargaining, so none are
in dispute.

7. Article No.
Provides
Description of Article
Proposed Amendment
2
Recognition
Recognizes union as sole bargaining agent for all employees
within the scope of the bargaining unit.
Delete
3
Union security
3.01
Maintenance-of-membership clause for all present member
employees, and a requirement that all new hires become union
members within 30 days of hire.
Delete
3.02
Requires the employer to have new hires sign up for the union;
general obligation to deduct and remit union dues.
Delete
3.03
An obligation to record union dues deducted on employees’ T-4
slips.
Delete
3.04

8. Permits union stewards to represent employees in grievances. A
promise by the employer to give union stewards time off, up to
15 minutes for each grievance, and a promise by the union to
conduct investigations and meetings outside working time to
keep up production.
Delete
3.05
A list of stewards, by area.
Delete
3.06
A union promise not to conduct union
business on company time without permission.
Delete
3.07
Company allows a bulletin board for union notices. Union
promises not to distribute leaflets on the premises.
Delete
3.08
Gives the union a confidential monthly list of employees.
Delete
4
Non-discrimination
4.01

9. The company and the union agree there will be no
discrimination, intimidation, interference, restraint or coercion
exercised or practised by the company or the union or by any of
their representatives with respect to any employee because of
activity or non-activity by the union.
Delete
4.02
Union agrees not to cause or sanction any work stoppages
during the term of the agreement. It recognizes that such action
may warrant dismissal. The employer agrees not to lock out
during the term of the agreement.
Delete
5
Management responsibilities
Provides comprehensive statement of management’s rights.
Delete
6
Negotiating committee
Recognizes the union’s negotiating committee and provides
limited time off without pay for negotiations during working
hours.
Delete
In addition to the deletion of these clauses and provisions, the
Employment Conditions
also propose the following changes and modifications:
Article No.
Issue addressed
Proposed Amendment in Employment Conditions
7

10. Grievance procedure
Original clause defined a comprehensive grievance and
arbitration provision. It divided grievances into two classes:
Employment grievances (7.01), and Policy grievances (7.02).
This process to be replaced in the
Employment Conditions
with Articles 2, 16, 17, and 19 below:
2
Employee concerns
2.1
Complaint process
If an employee has any complaint about fair treatment or the
application of these
Employment Conditions
, they may discuss their concerns with any member of
management, including the general manager or the president.
This will in no way adversely affect their employment with the
company.
2.2
Discipline Review Committee
A Discipline Review Committee consisting of two management
representatives and two representatives appointed by employees
will be available at all times. In the event of a suspension or
dismissal, the company will review such proposed discipline
with the committee before taking action. An employee who feels
he or she has been unfairly disciplined may appeal these
decisions to the Discipline Review Committee.
16
Safety
This article sets up joint health and safety committees. The
Employment Terms
preserve the committee but delete reference to the union as

11. appointer of the employee representatives. The new term deletes
a prohibition on the committee dealing with grievance or
collective bargaining matters.
17
Discipline
The new article is the same as that proposal except for two
things. All reference to a grievance procedure is removed, and
so is the promise to notify the union in writing within one day
of notice of disciplinary action given to an employee.
19
Leaves of Absence
Article 19.04 allowed leaves of absences for union schools,
conventions or conferences. It also provided for an employee to
take a long-term leave, while maintaining service, to occupy a
full-time union position.
Finally, the
Employment Conditions
add an article dealing with a social club/employee association
that has existed for some time but has not previously been
mentioned in the collective agreement or any proposals. It
reads:
Article 14 – Hot Air Social Club
The company offers and encourages membership in the Hot Air
Social Club. The club promotes favourable employee relations
through social functions planned by employees. Funding of
these functions is through a $1 monthly contribution by each
employee, which is matched by the company on an equal basis.
Membership will be offered upon commencement of
employment.

12. The Issues for You to Decide
In the light of the course material and your own provincial
labour relations legislation, answer the following questions:
1.
Does a strike or lockout end a collective agreement?
2.
If so, does an employer have the ability to unilaterally impose
terms and conditions of employment once strike or lockout
action ends the collective agreement?
3.
If an employer unilaterally implements such terms, are
employees required to work under those terms, without their
individual, or the union’s collective, approval?
4.
Can the employer exclude from the terms it unilaterally imposes
all terms that are related to the union?
5.
Do the employer’s actions in this case constitute bargaining in
bad faith?

13. Combine your answers to these questions in an essay that does
not exceed 1,500 words.