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Two years after lawyers working for the British Columbia government went to court to win the right to choose their own union, the case is still stalled.
Micah Weintraub, president of the BC Government Lawyers Association, said the government is dragging its feet by not disclosing relevant documents. “They’ve been slow to produce documents and they say more are coming.”
The association represents about 300 members who advise government on legal matters, represent the province in civil litigation and draft new laws.
The lawyers had been legally banned for decades from unionizing, but in 2022 they challenged that by applying to the BC Labour Relations Board to form their own union.
In 2023 the NDP government responded by passing legislation allowing the lawyers to unionize but forcing them to join the Professional Employees Association rather than establish their own union.
The lawyers challenged that by filing a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court on July 18, 2023. The court file was last updated more than a year ago.
The delays, which the lawyers’ association blames on slow government disclosure of relevant documents, have stalled the case.
“We’re not able to set a trial date while we’re still resolving this document issue,” Weintraub said. “I don’t know what the government intends to prove through the supposed thousands of documents that they intend to deliver to us. I do know that we want our day in court.”
A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, which is responsible for labour relations with the public service through the BC Public Service Agency, declined to comment while the matter is before the courts.
When the government passed the bill, politicians argued the law was necessary to maintain a limit on the number of unions bargaining with government and to streamline negotiations.
The Professional Employees Association — which represents members of various professions working for the government, including engineers, foresters, pharmacists and agrologists — has represented government lawyers since the 2023 bill was enacted.
In public comments the Professional Employees Association has supported the lawyers’ right to form their own union. So have the BC Federation of Labour umbrella group and the BC General Employees’ Union, which represents the majority of unionized direct B.C. government workers.
Weintraub said the government was wrong to override the clear choice of BC Government Lawyers Association members and interfere with the now paused Labour Relations Board process. All the concerns the government has raised were being dealt with there, he said.
He hopes to have a trial date set by the end of the summer, he said, and that it will be as soon as possible.
“I wish it was moving faster and we absolutely intend to pursue it and have our day in court.” ![[Tyee]](/design-article.thetyee.ca/ui/img/yellowblob.png){kind=small}
Read more: Rights + Justice, Labour + Industry, BC Politics
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