Professional Documents
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of Labor
August 28, 1998| Romero, J. | Substantial Support
Digester: Bea, Alexis
SUMMARY: Oriental Tin Can and Metal Sheet Manufacturing
Company, Inc. entered into a CBA with petitioner Oriental Tin Can
Labor Union (OTCLU)--the existing CBA was due to expire on April
15, 1994.
Four days later, 248 of the companys rank-and-file employees
authorized the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) to file a petition
for certification election. However, this petition was repudiated via
a written waiver by 115 of the signatories who, along with other
employees totalling 897, ratified the CBA on the same date.
Oriental Tin Can Workers Union Federation of Free Workers
(OTCWU-FFW) filed a petition for certification election with the
National Capital Region office of the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE), pursuant to Article 256 of the Labor Code.
The petition was accompanied by the authentic signatures of
25% of the employees/workers in the bargaining unit. The above
petition for certification elections was opposed by the OTCLU.
For its part, the company filed a comment alleging inter alia that
the new CBA was ratified by 897 out of the 1,020 rank-and-file
employees within the bargaining unit. The OTCLU then filed a
motion to dismiss and/or position paper reiterating its position that
the petition did not comply with the 25% signature requirement
and maintaining that the new CBA was a bar to a certification
election.
The certification election was allowed by USEC Laguesma and now
the resolution allowing such is being assailed by both the company
and OCTLU. The Court allowed the certification elections claiming
that it is the most expeditious way to resolve the issue of which
union may represent the workers in collective bargaining.
DOCTRINE: In line with the policy that holding of a CE is a
certain and definitive mode of arriving at the choice of employees
bargaining representative, the administrative rule requiring the
simultaneous submission of the 25% consent signatures upon filing