Card-check unionization, reinstated by British Columbia last year, proved highly effective, with a 59% surge in union certification applications and a vast majority resulting in new bargaining units. It’s indisputable: card check is a huge boon to labor.
Last month, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board released its annual report for 2022. As the board’s report shows, under the new “card check” model, workers are indeed unionizing at higher rates.
The BCLRB’s 2022 report shows that overall, union certification applications in the province increased 59.3 percent — going from 108 filed in 2021 to 172 filed in 2022. Notably, over 66 percent of applications for new bargaining units occurred after card check came into force in June.
Of the 155 applications that the board finished processing by the end of last year, 135 resulted in new union bargaining units. The law therefore also appears to be improving the success rate of unions. In 2021, slightly more than 79 percent of applications resulted in a union certification. Last year, 87 percent of applications resulted in a new bargaining unit. The total number of workers across new bargaining units also grew by 52.6 percent. In 2021, certifications resulted in 2,766 new union members. For 2022, that figure is 4,222. In other words, despite only being in effect for the last seven months of 2022, card check has clearly been a net positive for workers and unions.
Card check has also greatly increased the efficiency of the provincial labor board. Now that most certification applications no longer require the additional step of a mandatory election, applications can be processed — and unions certified — much more quickly. In 2021, it took the board an average of forty-six days to process a certification application — to verify signed cards, hold an election, and certify the results. After Bill 10, it took an average of only eight days.
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