More than 400 lawyers joined Society of United Professionals
Supervisory duty counsel (SDC) lawyers employed by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) voted to join the Society of United Professionals on March 26.
“The inclusion of SDCs is a natural fit and strengthens our bargaining position to help make improvements within LAO and for the broader legal community,” said Scott Travers, Society of United Professionals president. “Our union now represents more than 400 legal professionals and we are committed to expanding our work in this area.”
Prior to the addition of 24 SDCs, the union represented more than 300 lawyers and articling students at LAO, said the union.
During negotiation of the LAO lawyers’ collective agreement last year, the parties agreed to hold a vote of the SDCs following ratification. The vote was conducted by mail-in ballot, said the union.
In 2018, the professionals who work for the National Judicial Institute in Ottawa, Toronto’s Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic and Toronto Hydro IT professionals all joined the union.
