Five hundred and fifty non-technical staff at Rogers Cable Systems in b.c. may join the Telecommunications Workers Union that represents labor at BC Tel among others. If the twu’s efforts are successful it will create the first such unionized shop for Rogers in Canada.

Most of Rogers’ technical or craft workers such as those who install cable are already union members, but the twu is hoping to sign up b.c. Rogers staff who work in community programming, administrative, engineering design and commercial sales departments, as well as those at the Rogers call center in Burnaby.

‘It really includes all of the employees who currently aren’t in a bargaining unit,’ says Carol Gibson, director human resources, Rogers Cable Systems Western Canada. ‘It would be the first union group [for Rogers] that was really non-technical.’

The twu has made an application for certification with the Canada Labour Relations Board, and if the application is approved the employees will vote on joining the union. For the union to be automatically certified, signed cards from 50% plus one employees would be needed. If 35% of the employees had signed cards in the last six months, a vote would then be taken.

But Gibson says there are questions surrounding the twu’s application and the appropriateness of the unit chosen that could halt its efforts to sign up the Rogers employees.

‘This is the first application for certification that would cut across two licensed areas [cablesystems],’ says Gibson. ‘The question of whether it’s an appropriate group still has to be answered.’

Gibson says that because the certification application spans two cablesystem areas (one in Vancouver, one in Surrey), it is inappropriate and that Rogers does not want to have to deal with another bargaining unit.

‘We’re concerned about having more opportunity for unrest if they are certified and if we have another unit that crosses two boundaries,’ says Gibson.

A decision on the validity of the twu’s application to the lrb is expected in December or January.