Being a summer caseworker at Parkdale Community Legal Services (“PCLS”) has historically brought with it experiences and opportunities that are interesting, exciting, and challenging. Students are expected to carry at least twenty active files and taught necessary lawyering skills, while also dedicating time to community legal work and campaigns for systemic change. This summer, my experience at PCLS was not like what I expected. I expected intensive training in the area of Worker’s Rights. I expected to carry files in employment law, wrongful dismissal, and human rights. I expected to advocate for the rights of workers—whether they be my clients’ or worker’s rights in general. I did not expect to be a part of a movement to advocate for the rights of the PCLS summer caseworkers.
On 5 August 2015, the summer caseworkers at PCLS unionized. We selected the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (“OPSEU”) as our sole bargaining agent, which made sense because the staff members at the clinic are also represented by OPSEU. It is this unexpected experience that provided an unparalleled summer for me.
Fairly early into the summer term, a group of caseworkers met with an OPSEU organizer to discuss the possibility, risks, and benefits of unionizing. After several of these meetings, the group began getting cards signed for the certification drive.
In early June, twelve of us met at a local restaurant to discuss people’s perspectives on the drive. Issues were raised, worries were expressed, and dissenting opinions were made clear but, ultimately, the entire table agreed to move forward with filing an application. It was not until 6 July that we actually filed with sixteen out of twenty cards signed—double the legal requirement of 40 per cent.
During the month and in-between, a lot of work had to be done. Some were tasked with collecting remaining cards that were unsigned. I, along with various others, were involved with meeting with our organizer to fill out the application, determine when and where the vote would be held, and strategizing about when was the best day to file the application. Furthermore, we had anticipated very early on that management would challenge our status as employees so we discussed the circumstances surrounding our employment to formulate arguments countering this position.
As it happens, after we filed the application management filed a legal response on 8 July positing that we are not employees and do not have a sufficient connection to the workplace to form a bargaining unit. Although the response was expected, many were upset by its tone and implications. That same day, the clinic’s existing staff union produced a poster that outlined rebuttals to the position. It stated that PCLS summer caseworkers dedicate hundreds of hours, service all the clients in the community, and so on. It ended with “Summer caseworkers and staff work together. One union for PCLS”. These posters were placed all over the clinic. In the Workers’ Rights Division, since we are located at the end of the hall, we decided to hang the OPSEU flag on the wall so that anyone walking down the hall can clearly see it. Morale was strong at the clinic, and perhaps strengthened by management’s legal position.
On vote day, 13 July, sixteen of us voted. Because of management’s challenge, the ballot box was sealed and held at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) once all the ballots were cast. A hearing to determine whether we were employees of PCLS was scheduled for 17 and 18 August. Rick Blair from Ryder Wright Blair and Holmes LLP was retained by OPSEU to represent us at the hearing. In preparation, we provided OPSEU our employment contracts, paystubs, tax forms and other relevant documents. Fortunately, we did not require the hearing after all.
Perhaps the most important piece for averting the hearing was the open letter that one of the caseworkers, Parmbir Gill, wrote (attached to this article). The letter was disseminated widely beginning 23 July. By the afternoon of 27 July, we collected 237 signatories, including sixteen current PCLS caseworkers, 70 PCLS staff and alumni, and 151 community supporters. We emailed the letter with all its signatories attached to each member of the Board of Directors. It was a complete shock when we learned on the morning of 29 July that the Board had met and voted to withdraw its legal response. As a result, the OLRB unsealed the ballot box and counted the votes on 5 August. With a decisive 14-2 vote for the unionizing, we were officially certified!
From the perspective of a student who is interested in a legal career in union-side labour law, the first-hand experience gained from successfully organizing, complete with all the fears and joys, made the summer for me. The PCLS summer caseworkers banded together towards this goal. We formed the first bargaining unit of its kind in the legal aid sector. Our journey is a testament that grassroots mobilizing can yield surprising results. Let this be a precedent for others who wish to provide excellent service, do progressive work, but also want the voice and protection of the collective.
In 1977, the articling students at PCLS sought to unionize and succeeded – see Association of Commercial and Technical Employees, Local 1704 v. Parkdale Community Legal Services. In 2015, we, the summer students of PCLS successfully unionized. This just goes to show that PCLS remains at the forefront of progressive work by young legal professionals.