G.R. No. L-42155 May 31, 1976
PHILIPPINE LABOR ALLIANCE COUNCIL, petitioner, vs. CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEES LABOR UNION, CONFEDERATION OF GENERAL WORKERS (CGW) and CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC., CARMELO NORIEL, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS, respondents.

FACTS

The petitioner, Philippine Labor Alliance Council (PLAC), sought a certification election for the rank-and-file employees of the California Manufacturing Company, Inc. The initial order from Med-Arbiter Romeo A. Young, dated July 25, 1975, directed that the election should include workers from both the company’s Parañaque plant and its Pasay plant. The Med-Arbiter upheld PLAC’s contention that the Pasay workers should be allowed to vote as they were slated for relocation to the Parañaque plant, thus forming a single employee force at one location.
On appeal by the respondent unions, California Employees Labor Union and Confederation of General Workers, Bureau of Labor Relations Director Carmelo Noriel issued an order on October 29, 1975, modifying the Med-Arbiter’s decision. Director Noriel limited the certification election to only the Parañaque plant, ruling that the Pasay plant constituted a separate bargaining unit. PLAC subsequently filed this certiorari proceeding, challenging this modification.

ISSUE

Whether the certification election for the rank-and-file employees of California Manufacturing Company, Inc. should include workers from both its Parañaque and Pasay plants.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioner, ordering a certification election that includes the rank-and-file workers from both plants. The legal resolution was decisively influenced by the subsequent unanimous consent of all parties involved. During the proceedings, the respondent labor unions filed a Comment and Manifestation stating that the overwhelming majority of their membership agreed to the inclusion of the Pasay City workers in the election to expedite labor justice. Respondent Director Noriel, in his own comment, interposed no objection to conducting a simultaneous election for both plants, emphasizing the workers’ interest in a swift resolution.
The respondent company, while not opposing the inclusion, requested that the election be deferred until sixty days before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement covering the Pasay unit, which was set for June 19, 1976, to ensure a single bargaining negotiation. The Court noted that this period had been reached by the time of its decision. Consequently, the Court found the petition meritorious. It nullified the portion of Director Noriel’s order that modified the Med-Arbiter’s ruling. The Court directed that the certification election proceed forthwith to include both the Parañaque and Pasay rank-and-file workers, with implementation left to the Bureau of Labor Relations in accordance with the Labor Code. No costs were awarded.