NEWS
Monday, August 31, 2015 3
An Unexpected Experience
Summer Caseworkers at Parkdale Community Legal Services
successfully unionize.
jason huang › staff writer
B
eing a su mmer 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 ba ɝ