V.

Liwayway Glass had 600 rank-and-file employees. Three rival unions A, B, and C participated in
the certification elections ordered by the Med-Arbiter. 500 employees voted. The unions
obtained the following votes: A-200; B-150; C-50; 90 employees voted “no union”; and 10 were
segregated votes. Out of the segregated votes, four (4) were cast by probationary employees and
six (6) were cast by dismissed employees whose respective cases are still on appeal. (10%)

(A) Should the votes of the probationary and dismissed

employees be counted in the total votes cast for the purpose of determining the winning labor
union?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

Yes. Rule IX, Sec. 5 of DOLE Department Order 40-03 provides that “[a]ll employees who are
members of the appropriate bargaining unit sought to be represented by the petitioner at the time
of the issuance of the order granting the conduct of a certification election shall be eligible to
vote. An employee who has been dismissed from work but has contested the legality of the
dismissal in a forum of appropriate jurisdiction at the time of the issuance of the order for the
conduct of a certification election shall be considered a qualified voter, unless his/ her dismissal
was declared valid in a final judgment at the time of the conduct of the certification election.”

(B) Was there a valid election?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

Yes. To have a valid election, at least a majority of all eligible voters in the unit must have cast
their votes (Art. 256, now Art. 266, of the Labor Code). In the instant case, 500 out of 600 rank-
and-file employees voted.

C) Should Union A be declared the winner?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

No. The Labor Code provides that the Labor Union receiving the majority of the valid votes cast
shall be certified as the exclusive bargaining agent of all the workers in the unit (Art. 256, now
Art. 266, of the Labor Code). Here, the number of valid votes cast is 490; thus, the winning
union should receive at least 246 votes. Union A only received 200 votes.

(D) Suppose the election is declared invalid, which of the

contending unions should represent the rank-and-file employees?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:
None of them should represent the rank-and-file employees (Art. 255, now Art. 265, of the Labor
Code).

(E) Suppose that in the election, the unions obtained

the following votes: A-250; B-150; C-50; 40 voted “no union”; and 10 were segregated votes.
Should Union A be certified as the bargaining representative?

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

Yes. The Labor Code provides that the Labor Union receiving the majority of the valid votes cast
shall be certified as the exclusive bargaining agent of all the workers in the unit (Art. 256, now
Art. 266, of the Labor Code). Here, the number of valid votes cast is 490. Thus, the winning
union should receive at least 246 votes; Union A received 250 votes.