Reyes v. Trajano

Facts:

There were two competing unions, Tri-Union Employees Union-Organized Labor Association in Line Industries and Agriculture (TUEU-OLALIA), and Trade Union of the Philippines and Allied Services (TUPAS). 348 workers were deemed to be qualified voters for the certification election.

Of the 348 qualified voters, only 240 voted, 141 of these are members of the Iglesia ni Kristo. The INK employees promptly made known their protest to the exclusion of their votes. They filed f a

petition to cancel the election alleging that it "was not fair" and the result thereof did "not reflect the true sentiments of the majority of the employees." TUEU-OLALIA opposed the petition. The Med Arbiter saw no merit in the INK employees’ petition which prompted the petitioners to appeal before BLR which also denied the appeal.

Issue:

Are the members of INK be guaranteed of the right to self-organization

Held:

The right NOT to join, affiliate with, or assist any union, and to disaffiliate or resign from a labor organization, is subsumed in the right to join, affiliate with, or assist any union, and to maintain membership therein. The right to form or join a labor organization necessarily includes the right to refuse or refrain from exercising said right. It is self-evident that just as no one should be denied the exercise of a right granted by law, so also, no one should be compelled to exercise such a conferred right. The fact that a person has opted to acquire membership in a labor union does not preclude his subsequently opting to renounce such membership.

The purpose of a certification election is precisely the ascertainment of the wishes of the majority of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit: to be or not to be represented by a labor organization, and in the affirmative case, by which particular labor organization. If the results of the election should disclose that the majority of the workers do not wish to be represented by any union, then their wishes must be respected, and no union may properly be certified as the exclusive representative of the workers in the bargaining unit in dealing with the employer regarding wages,

hours and other terms and conditions of employment.