To file a petition for certification, the union must have membership cards signed by more than 50% of the group of employees it is seeking to represent (s. 21).
The group must be an “appropriate bargaining unit” as defined by the Labour Code. Determining what is an “appropriate unit” in each particular instance is based on many previous cases (jurisprudence). It is best to examine the situation thoroughly with a CSN organizer beforehand in order to find out who exactly is part of this “appropriate unit” and how many membership cards must be signed to obtain the required majority.
Employees must each sign a membership card and pay the first union dues of $2.00 out of their own pockets (s. 36.1c).
