Canadian Lawyer InHouse

51 cANAdIANlAwyermAg.com/INhouse DECEmBEr 2014 P ro f e s s i o n a l P ro f i l e BY SHELDON GOrDON on aug. 31, 2013, the founding conven- tion of a new union, Unifor, was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and her- alded what unionists hoped would be a new era for Canada's struggling labour movement. The convention was the culmination of 18 months of intense activity to unify the Canadian Auto Workers and the Com- munications, Energy and Paperworkers as Unifor, the largest private-sector union in Canada and what Lewis Gottheil calls a "new union for the 21st century." Gottheil, who founded and (for 23 years) led the CAW's legal department, became the new entity's counsel. "I had the privilege of being on the dais when the motion was made for the adoption of the constitution," he re- calls. The next day, he celebrated by march- ing in the annual Labour Day parade, car- rying the Unifor banner for the first time. Gottheil played a significant role in the creation of Unifor. He served on the CAW/ CEP proposal committee that in 2012 is- sued a detailed report calling for a new union (that would coalesce 300,000 workers in industries ranging from manufacturing and media to forestry and fishing). Then, following votes in favour of the report's adoption by CAW and CEP mem- bers at conventions in August and October, respectively, of 2013, Gottheil worked for five months as a co-chair of the 12-member working group that drafted the constitution for Unifor. The group had to address a multitude of issues, he says. "How are local unions go- ing to be structured? What will be the re- sponsibilities of the leadership? What will be the rules regarding elections, at both the national and local levels? What will be the processes for treating alleged violations of the constitution? "Would we affiliate with the Canadian Labour Congress [CLC]? If so, on what terms? What membership criteria will ap- ply to workers who are laid off or termi- nated?" (In addition to recognizing Unifor membership based on certified bargaining units, Gottheil and his colleagues recog- nized "community chapters," which enable precarious and unemployed workers to af- filiate with Unifor.) After the founding convention, the new union's legal team had much to do, says Gottheil. "We had to update our successor- ship bargaining rights with labour boards across the country, obtain voluntary suc- cessorship agreements with employers in Ontario and elsewhere where that's valid under law; and consolidate the various non- profit corporations sponsored by our prede- cessor unions, such as the non-profits that hold our property." While Unifor faced many integration challenges, it didn't have to mesh two sepa- rate legal departments. The CAW had in- house lawyers, but the CEP didn't. Unifor now has six lawyers and two articling stu- dents in Toronto and one lawyer in Montreal. At the CAW, the in-house lawyers regu- larly provided advice on issues arising from the administration of collective agreements. However, they did not routinely attend griev- ance arbitrations. Instead, the union usually assigned staff representatives to prepare and Leading change at Unifor Founder of the legal department at the former Canadian Auto Workers union now heads up team for Unifor.

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