Getting the Facts Straight
The CIRB ruled 100% in our favour and included 100% of all the pilots employed in our application in spite of attempts by CHC to have non-Canadians, Canadian non-residents, etc., etc., disqualified.
The complete ruling, including the ruling on the appeal, are offered as public information on the CIRB website.
And finally, regarding whether or not it's called a union or association, the GHPA offered CHC the option of retracting our application, provided that they would sit down and talk to us. We were laughed out of the office. The only other option available to force CHC to sit and talk with us was certification and that means we have the right to be considered a union (with all other associated rights and protections).
I appreciate your concerns about embracing a union. When you are dealing with a management team that sees communication as a one-way street however, you have to use whatever legal resources at your disposal.
All the best.