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The Law of Work
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Or, Perhaps City Council Does Not Need to Ratify the Agreement

by David Doorey July 29, 2009
written by David Doorey July 29, 2009

Yesterday I noted that some city of Toronto counsellors were telling media that there is no deal in the City of Toronto strike until council ratifies the deal, and some counsellors no doubt see this as an opportunity to embarrass Miller and get their names in the paper.  Some of those counsellors cutely gave themselves a name–“Responsible Government Group”–are leading the charge.  Oh brother.  Are these people really prepared to prolong the strike by rejecting an agreement their own bargaining team put to the union?  That would be something, especially if the strike then continued and ended in an interest arbitration award that gave the employees the same deal (or a better one) than that on the table now.
Now, Mayor Miller has announced that the striking workers can return to work as soon as the union holds a successful ratification vote. What does that mean?  Not really clear to me.  One interpretation is that council does not need to ratify the deal because the Mayor and the employer’s bargaining team have the authority to bind the City.  If that is the case, then what is all this nonsense being spewed by council members saying there is no deal until the council ratifies the deal.
Or it means that Mayor is promising to reinstate the strikers on the terms set out in the proposed settlement, even if the council later rejects the settlement.  It is always possible for striking workers and the employer to agree to terms of reinstatement during a strike.  Was Miller making an offer to the strikers that they can return to work on the terms in the proposed settlement once the employees ratify those terms, even if the City council rejects the settlement?  Does he have the authority to do that?  Can the City now rescind that offer after Miller has made a public pledge to allow the workers to return to work on the new conditions?  If it does, it is bad faith bargaining?  Too bad it’s summer, cause this strike is giving us lots to talk about in my labour law classes.
The settlement of this strike has become complicated because of the politics being played on the employer side, the apparent uncertainty about what authority the employer’s bargaining committee has to bargain a settlement, the constant media scrutiny, and the fact that the parties themselves do not yet seem to have a clear agreement on what the deal is.  This latter uncertainty has caused Local 416 to hold off on holding its ratification vote until matters are clarified. So on it goes…

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David Doorey

Professor Doorey is an Associate Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University. He is Academic Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s executive LLM Program in Labour and Employment Law and a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. Professor Doorey is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B., Ph.D), London School of Economics (LLM Labour Law), and the University of Toronto (B.A., M.I.R.).

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Law Prof. Talking #labor & #employment #law #Gig to the masses. Alpaca ❤️ @YorkUniversity @OsgoodeNews @LSELaw @LWPHarvard @Jacobin @OnLaborBlog https://t.co/5V9r8VPHsh

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jamesbrad263Brad James@jamesbrad263·
7h

@TheLawofWork @OFLabour Thanks for giving me space on your blog last December to bloviate and whine about this broad topic: https://lawofwork.ca/james_whysoquiet/

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TheLawofWorkDavid J. Doorey🇨🇦@TheLawofWork·
7h

It is rather striking that the @OFLabour is not leading a charge for improved access to collective bargaining.

Emphasizing improved labor standards over collective bargaining rights.

Brad James@jamesbrad263

Private sector union membership is slipping. Ways to address that could include better rights for employees to form unions (as BC has done) or building a broader-based bargaining system for franchise workers. But those aren't in this list of goals from Ontario's union federation. https://twitter.com/OFLabour/status/1559242326391791616

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greenhousenytSteven Greenhouse@greenhousenyt·
21h

Breaking- NLRB says workers at Amazon warehouse in Albany NY area file petition for union election for 400 workers to join Amazon Labor Union

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