St. James School of Quezon City vs. Samahang Manggagawa sa St. James School of Quezon City

The quorum for a certification election is determined by the number of qualified voters in the appropriate bargaining unit sought to be represented, not by the total number of all rank-and-file employees of the employer across different campuses or occupational categories.

Samahang Manggagawa sa St. James School of Quezon City ("Samahang Manggagawa") filed a petition for certification election to determine the collective bargaining representative of the motor pool, construction, and transportation employees of St. James School of Quezon City ("St. James"). The election was held on 26 June 1999, yielding 84 cast votes. St. James protested the results, asserting that the voters were not its regular employees but workers of an independent contractor, and that even if they were employees, the 84 votes failed to constitute a majority of its total rank-and-file workforce of 179 in Quezon City or 570 across all campuses.

• The Union and Its Bargaining Unit: Samahang Manggagawa seeks to represent the motor pool, construction, and transportation employees of St. James's Tandang Sora, Quezon City campus. Under its constitution and by-laws, the union's representation is expressly limited to this specific group of non-academic personnel in that specific campus.
• The Certification Election and Protest: A certification election was held on 26 June 1999 at the DOLE office, with 84 votes cast out of 149 eligible voters. St. James filed a protest, alleging that the 84 voters were employees of an independent contractor, Architect Conrado Bacoy, and not its regular employees. St. James further contended that none of its 179 rank-and-file employees in the Quezon City campus voted, and even if the 84 voters were its employees, the votes would not constitute a majority of its 570 rank-and-file employees across all five campuses.
• Prior Proceedings on Union Cancellation: Prior to the certification election, St. James sought the cancellation of Samahang Manggagawa's union registration, citing lack of employer-employee relationship. The DOLE Regional Director initially cancelled the registration, but the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) reversed the cancellation, finding that the construction workers were regular employees and Architect Bacoy was a labor-only contractor. The Court of Appeals affirmed the BLR's decision in CA-G.R. SP No. 50918. The Supreme Court subsequently denied St. James's petition for certiorari (G.R. No. 149648) for error in the choice of mode of appeal.

• Validity of Union Formation: Petitioner argued that the majority of the members of Samahang Manggagawa are not its employees but employees of an independent contractor, Architect Bacoy, thus questioning the validity of the labor union's formation.
• Lack of Quorum: Petitioner maintained that the certification election was conducted without a quorum. It alleged that its 179 qualified rank-and-file employees in the Quezon City campus did not vote, and that even if the 84 voters were its employees, the votes did not constitute a majority of its 570 rank-and-file employees across all campuses.

• Appropriate Bargaining Unit: Respondent countered that the union seeks to represent only the non-academic personnel (motor pool, construction, and transportation employees) of the Tandang Sora campus, not all rank-and-file employees of St. James.
• Correct Basis for Quorum: Respondent argued that the Med-Arbiter erred in including all rank-and-file employees—whether teaching or non-teaching—in the computation of the total number of employees, and that the list submitted by St. James consisted only of administrative, teaching, and office personnel who do not belong to the bargaining unit.

• Validity of Union Formation: Whether St. James can still question the validity of the formation of the labor union and the employer-employee relationship of its members.
• Quorum in Certification Election: Whether the quorum for a certification election should be based on the total number of all rank-and-file employees of the employer across all campuses and job categories, or only on the employees within the specific appropriate bargaining unit sought to be represented.

• Validity of Union Formation: The issue is barred by prior final judgments. The employer-employee relationship between St. James and the union members was conclusively settled in the prior union cancellation proceedings, where the BLR and the Court of Appeals found Architect Bacoy to be a labor-only contractor and St. James the real employer. The Supreme Court's denial of St. James's subsequent petition closed any further issue on the validity of the union's formation.
• Quorum in Certification Election: The quorum is properly determined by the number of qualified voters within the appropriate bargaining unit. Because Samahang Manggagawa seeks to represent only the motor pool, construction, and transportation employees of the Tandang Sora campus, the total employee count for quorum purposes is limited to the 149 qualified voters in that unit. The 84 votes cast constitute a majority of the 149 qualified voters, establishing a valid quorum. The employer's submitted list of 179 or 570 employees was correctly disregarded, as it included administrative, teaching, and office personnel from other campuses who do not belong to the bargaining unit.

• Appropriate Bargaining Unit — The group of employees whom the labor union seeks to represent and with whom the employer is required to collectively bargain. The composition of this unit dictates the pool of qualified voters and the basis for computing the quorum in a certification election. A union representing a specific category of employees in a specific campus cannot be subjected to a quorum computation based on all employees across all campuses and occupational categories.

• "Thus, the computation of the quorum should be based on the rank and file motor pool, construction and transportation employees of the Tandang Sora campus and not on all the employees in St. James’ five campuses."
• "The administrative, teaching and office personnel are not members of Samahang Manggagawa. They do not belong to the bargaining unit that Samahang Manggagawa seeks to represent. Hence, the list submitted by St. James may not be used as basis to determine the members of Samahang Manggagawa."

• Section 13, Rule XII, Book V, Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code — Governs the proclamation and certification of results by the election officer, specifying conditions where a winner may be proclaimed (no protest filed, or resolution of challenge will not materially change the result). Cited to frame the procedural context of the certification election protest and the opening of challenged ballots.
• Section 2, Rule XII, Book V, Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code — Provides that all employees who are members of the appropriate bargaining unit sought to be represented at the time of the certification election shall be qualified to vote. Applied to establish that the eligibility to vote and the quorum computation must be confined to the members of the appropriate bargaining unit (the motor pool, construction, and transportation employees of the Tandang Sora campus), excluding teaching, administrative, and office personnel.

Hilario G. Davide, Jr. (CJ), Leonardo A. Quisumbing, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Adolfo S. Azcuna