a. Labor Organization; Legitimate Labor Organization

Rights of Legitimate Labor Organizations

• To act as the representative of its members for the purpose of collective bargaining;
• To be certified as the exclusive representative of all the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining;
• To be furnished by the employer, upon written request, with its annual audited financial statements, including the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement, within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the request, after the union has been duly recognized by the employer or certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in the bargaining unit, or within 60 calendar days before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, or during the collective bargaining negotiation;
• To own property, real or personal, for the use and benefit of the labor organization and its members;
• To sue and be sued in its registered name; and
• To undertake all other activities designed to benefit the organization and its members, including cooperative, housing, welfare and other projects not contrary to law. (Labor Code, Art. 251)

Right of Individual or Group to Present Grievances Not Impaired

An individual employee or group of employees shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their employer.

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, workers shall have the right, to participate in the policy and decision-making processes of the establishment where they are employed insofar as said processes will directly affect their rights, benefits and welfare.

For this purpose, workers and employers may form labor-management councils: Provided, that the representatives of the workers in such labor-management councils shall be elected by at least the majority of all employees in said establishment. (Labor Code, Art. 267)

Note: In establishments where no legitimate labor organization exists, the workers’ representative shall be elected directly by the employees at large. (Azucena Vol. I, 7th ed., p.458).

Requesting Union

Any legitimate labor organization

Who May File

Any legitimate labor organization, including

• A national union or federation which has already issued a charter certificate to its local chapter participating in the certification election. (Labor Code, Art. 268) (National union or federation shall not be required to disclose the names of the local/chapter’s officers and members, but shall attach to the petition the charter certificate it issued to its local/chapter Sec. 1, Rule VIII of DOLE Department Order No. 40-I-15)
• A local chapter which has been issued a charter certificate by the national union or federation may file a petition for certification election with the DOLE. (Labor Code, Art. 268) In an organized establishment with an existing collective bargaining agreement, the petition must be filed within the 60-day freedom period. (Labor Code, Art. 238 [234])