City Hall denies role as employer, stalling council staff union bid

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The unionization of Toronto City Council staff is on hold.

AMAPCEO, which represents workers in Ontario’s public service and a number of workplaces tied to government, put forward an update Friday that said “a challenge has been made to our application to form a union” by the City of Toronto, which disputes its status as an employer.

The City of Toronto “consistently identified us as their employees in their own public documents” but is “claiming that City Council staff are the employees of individual councillors, the mayor’s office, or other departments in which we work,” the AMAPCEO statement said.

“Over the past week, AMAPCEO staff and counsel tried to work with the employer to proactively address their challenge and avoid unnecessary delay. Unfortunately, the employer has chosen to move forward with their challenge.”

A simple majority – 50% plus one vote in support – was required to form the union. The AMAPCEO statement said despite the “deeply frustrating delay,” they are “confident” in the outcome of that vote, but ballots have been sealed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board for now.

“We want to encourage you all to stay strong and united, and to look forward to the exciting future that lies ahead for us as City Council staff,” AMAPCEO said.

City Hall confirmed the situation in a brief statement to the Toronto Sun.

“The City of Toronto can confirm that a proceeding has been commenced under the provisions of the Labour Relations Act, which stipulates specific and expedited response procedures that the city will adhere to. The city is unable to comment further as the case is before the Ontario Labour Relations Board,” the statement said.

An AMAPCEO spokesman did not respond to the Sun’s requests for comment Friday.

Voting was open online over 24 hours, starting at 2 p.m. on Thursday. When they filed for certification last week, AMAPCEO said they had better than 60% of the council staff workforce.

A pro-union staffer told the Sun last week that pay was one of the major issues, with salaries starting at just over $30,000 and many council workers making less than $50,000.

That employee called council staff the “most forgotten workers at City Hall” and said each councillor’s office “is sort of their own individual island” in terms of HR matters such as working conditions and quality of management.

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Councillors and the mayor had been urged by City Clerk John Elvidge to “tread very lightly” as employers and hold off on any discipline or changes in employee pay, the Sun has reported.

AMAPCEO’s statement says employees’ statuses were “frozen” when they certified last week and changes to things like pay, benefits or titles would require union consent.

AMAPCEO has told the Sun the hypothetical bargaining unit would be made up of roughly 170 employees, including non-management staff in the mayor’s office. Councillors’ chiefs of staff would be excluded as management, the staffer told the Sun.

While a labour effort by political aides is unusual, it’s not without precedent as New York City’s council staff unionized in 2021. Those workers reportedly began organizing in 2016, forming the Association of Legislative Employees.

jholmes@postmedia.com