Freeman's Famous Furniture was a furniture manufacturer operating in Peterborough and Oshawa, Ontario. Two worksites were located in Peterborough: a manufacturing plant and a warehouse. A second manufacturing site was situated in Oshawa. A total of 179 people worked at the Peterborough plant: the president, Mr. Freeman; a vice-president; 2 production managers; 1 director of human resources; 5 clerical and accounting staff in the main office; 2 clerical staff in the human resources office; 6 shift supervisors; 12 lead hands; 116 full-time production workers; 3 security guards; and 30 part-time production workers. The 12 shift supervisors had no power to fire employees, but if they said a worker should be let go, the production managers always agreed. The warehouse in Peterborough employed 25: 1 supervisor, 1 office person, 16 full-time and 4 part-time warehouse workers, and 3 truck drivers who owned their own trucks but worked exclusively for Freeman's. If the warehouse became busy, workers

would be transferred from the other facility to Peterborough to cover the work. The Oshawa facility was smaller. It had 22 employees: 1 supervisor, 2 lead hands, 14 production workers, and 4 licensed electricians who worked on the specialized machinery at the plant. James Jones, a worker at the Peterborough manufacturing plant, saw a website for a union online. He contacted a union organizer and they started signing up workers. He enlisted his friend Mark Smith in the warehouse. Jones had some minor notes on his work record for being late. Smith had once been caught drinking at work but was only suspended. The union signed up the following workers at the three sites.

Peterborough manufacturing plant:

2 clerical staff

1 clerk in human resources

4 shift supervisors

9 lead hands

78 full-time production workers

13 part-time production workers

3 security guards

Peterborough warehouse:

1 office worker

12 full-time workers (4 of whom were signed up by Smith during work hours)

3 part-time workers

3 truck drivers

Oshawa manufacturing plant:

4 production workers

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers signed up the four electricians at the Oshawa plant and made an application to represent those employees. When Mr. Freeman, the company president, found out about the union organizing drive, he was angry and took the following steps:

he fired Jones and Smith (Smith had also missed a day of work without an excuse, but no decision on what punishment would be imposed had been determined);

he called the employees to a meeting to say that if the union came in, they would be looking for another job;

he started calling in employees one by one to tell each of them why the union was not to their advantage;

he sent a letter to the employees saying that the union could not guarantee better conditions and that they would be spending union dues money for nothing; and

he cancelled a Christmas bonus. Some employees who opposed the union offered to set up an employees association as an alternative to the union. Freeman promised to help them set up. He pledged to pay for office costs, provide free office space, and allow them to meet on work time. You are the human resources director. You were on holidays when all these activities occurred and have just returned. Review the facts of this case and then help Mr. Freeman answer the following questions:

1. What is the appropriate bargaining unit?

2. Who would be included as employees in the bargaining unit?

3. How will the board deal with Mr. Freeman's actions?

4. What will be the process at the OLRB?

5. What will happen to Smith and Jones?

6. How will the electricians situation be resolved?

7. What should Mr. Freeman do, about the employees association?