Oriental Tin Labor Union v.

Secretary of Labor and Employment, Oriental Tin Can Workers Union Federation of Free
Workers (OTCWU-FFW), and Oriental Tin Can and Metal Sheet Manufacturing

Romero, J. | August 28, 1998 | eamtrinidad

FACTS:

- Oriental Tin Can and Metal Sheet Manufacturing Company, Inc. (the company) is engaged in the manufacture of
tin can containers and metal sheets
- March 3, 1994 – It entered into a CBA with petitioner Oriental Tin Labor Union (OTCLU) as the existing CBA was
due to expire on April 15, 1994
- Four days later, 248 of the company’s RNF EEs authorized the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) to file a petition
for certification election
o However, this petition was repudiated via written waiver by 115 of the signatories who, along with
other employees totaling 897, ratified the CBA on the same date
- Later, respondent Oriental Tin Can Workers Union Federation of Free Workers (OTCWU-FFW) filed a petition for
certification election with DOLE-NCR, purporting to represent the regular RNF EEs of the company
o Petition was accompanied by signatures of 25% of the EEs in the bargaining unit
- OTCLU: prayed for the dismissal of the petition for certification election on the ground that it was not
endorsed by at least 25% of the employees of the bargaining unit. Some of the employees who initially
signed the petition had allegedly withdrawn in writing such support prior to the filing of the same.
- OTCWU-FFW: the retraction of support for the petition was not verified under oath and, therefore, had no
legal and binding effect. It further asserted that the petition had the required support of more than 25%
of all the employees in the bargaining unit.
- The Company: the new CBA was ratified by 897 out of the 1,020 rank-and-file employees within the
bargaining unit.
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