LABREL DIGEST PRELIM [Part 2]

Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club Inc

- P appealed to the Office of the DOLE Sec and set aside the med arb's

vs

order, finding that: (absence of community or mutuality of interests)

Tagaytay Highlands Ees Union-PGTWO

1. R sought to represent 2 separate bargaining units (supervisory ees

and rank and file ees) and

Facts:

2. To represent ees of 2 separate and distinct corporate entities

- R is a legitimate Labor Organization representing majority of the rank

and file ees P

- Dole undersecretary: Dismissed the Resolution of Office of the Dole Sec

- R filed a Petition for Certification Election before the DOLE med arb unit
Issue:
- P opposed the Petition on the ground that the:

Whether or not the holding of the Petition for Cert Elec was

A. list of union members submitted by it was defective and fatally flawed

proper though there was alleged to be mixture of supervisory

because it included name and signatures of:

and rank and file ees - YES

1. Supervisors
2. Resigned

The statutory authority for the exclusion of supervisory employees in a

3. Terminated

rank-and-file union, and vice-versa, is Article 245 of the Labor Code, to

4. Absent without leave ees

wit:

5. Ees of the Country Club - corporation distinct and separate from P

Article 245. Ineligibility of managerial employees to join any
B. Out of the 192 signatories to the Petition, only 71 were actual rank

labor organization; right of supervisory employees. Managerial

and file ees

employees are not eligible to join, assist or form any labor

organization. Supervisory employees shall not be eligible for

C. List of union members were secured through fraudulent means

membership

because some ees denied and withdraw from participating in the

employees

Petition

organizations of their own.

- R asserted that:

in
but

labor

may

join,

organization
assist

or

of
form

the

rank-and-file

separate

labor

- Pizza Hut v. Ledesma

1. It was granted a Certification of Affiliation by DOLE which means it

The acquisition of rights by any union or labor organization,

complied with all the requirements for valid affiliation and inclusion in

particularly

the roster of legitimate labor organizations

election, first and foremost, depends onwhether or not the

Thus, med arb, pursuant to A.257 LC should order the conduct of a

Cert Elec, which it did

the

right

to

file

petition

for

certification

labor organization has attained the status of a legitimate labor

organization.

After a certificate of registration is issued to a union, its legal personality

ruling is instructive:

cannot be subject to collateral attack. It may be questioned only in an

independent petition for cancellation in accordance with Section 5 of

"[T]he best forum for determining whether there were indeed

Rule V, Book IV of the "Rules to Implement the Labor Code"

retractions from some of the laborers is in the certification

(Implementing Rules) which section reads:

election itself wherein the workers can freely express their

choice in a secret ballot. Suffice it to say that the will of the rank-

Sec. 5. Effect of registration. The labor organization or workers

and-file

employees

association shall be deemed registered and vested with legal

determined by secret ballot rather than by administrative or

personality on the date of issuance of its certificate of

quasi-judicial

registration. Such legal personality cannot thereafter be subject

election cases are not to be taken as contentious litigations for

to collateral attack, but may be questioned only in an

suits but as mere investigations of a non-adversary, fact-finding

independent petition for cancellation in accordance with

character as to which of the competing unions represents the

these Rules. (Emphasis supplied)

genuine choice of the workers to be their sole and exclusive

inquiry.

should
Such

in

every

possible

representation

and

instance

be

certification

collective bargaining representative with their employer."

The inclusion in a union of disqualified employees is not among the
grounds

for

cancellation,

unless

such

inclusion

is

due

to

misrepresentation, false statement or fraud under the circumstances

enumerated in Sections (a) and (c) of Article 239 of above-

As for the lack of mutuality of interest argument of petitioner:

Its failure to present substantial evidence that the assailed
employees are actually occupying supervisory positions.

quoted Article 239 of the Labor Code.

- Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor:
THEU, having been validly issued a certificate of registration, should be
considered to have already acquired juridical personality which may not

Designation should be reconciled with the actual job description

be assailed collaterally.

of subject employees x x x
- The mere fact that an employee is designated manager does

As for petitioners allegation that some of the signatures in the

not necessarily make him one.

petition for certification election were obtained through fraud,

- Otherwise, there would be an absurd situation where one can

false statement and misrepresentation:

be given the title just to be deprived of the right to be a member

The proper procedure is for it to file a petition for cancellation of the

of a union.

certificate of registration, and not to intervene in a petition for

- In the case of National Steel Corporation vs. Laguesma (G. R.

certification election.

No. 103743, January 29, 1996), it was stressed that:

What is essential is the nature of the employees

Regarding

the

alleged

withdrawal

of

union

members

from

function and not the nomenclature or title given to

participating in the certification election, this Courts following

the job which determines whether the employee has rank-

and-file

or

managerial

status

or

whether

supervisory employee. (Emphasis supplied).

he

is