Breaking new ground: how Legal Aid Ontario lawyers won the right to collectively bargain
The campaign to win collective bargaining rights for Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) lawyers was a momentous challenge that the Society...
The creative challenges of fostering a voluntary membership
When the Society’s collective agreement with Ontario Hydro took effect on Jan. 1, 1993 – its first collective agreement since...
The strike that defended the next generation
In the summer of 2005, 1,000 professionals from the Society’s Hydro One Local participated in the first strike...
At the bargaining table and beyond: the victorious campaign to keep Toronto Hydro Public
When it was uncovered in the Spring of 2016 that then-Mayor John Tory and the Toronto City Council...
Society pensioners and the fight to protect pensions during bankruptcy
When Nortel Networks Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2009 under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, the pensions of 20,000 Canadians...
Getting Nuclear on the Agenda: How the Society is fighting for future generations
“The planet is burning. We have to do something about it,” said Society President Michelle Johnston. She has...
Building community on the picket line: The 2023 strike at the Electrical Safety Authority
Safety professionals at the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) are crucial to eliminating potential dangers caused by electrical systems.
Forming new bonds of solidarity: The Society’s entry into the labour movement
In January 2002, a three-year agreement between the Society and Hydro One was signed under arbitrator George Adams. Hydro One...
Transition and change: The coal phase-out as a study in “just transition”
Technological change in the workplace has always been a disruptive challenge for workers. The closure of Ontario’s coal generating stations...
The nine-year battle for union certification
On July 1, 1983, Ontario Hydro unilaterally terminated its Master Agreement with the Society.
From 400 to 10,000: New millennium, new family, new organizing (Part two)
A two-part series charting the growth of the union.Against the backdrop of a restructured energy sector, the 21st century marked...
From 400 to 10,000: Growth in an era of voluntary membership (Part One)
A two-part series charting the growth of the union 2024 is a milestone year for the Society of United Professionals....