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Unifor understands that Local Unions are deeply involved in the grievance and arbitration system while representing their members. Part of this involves research, and access to available databases can be very costly.
That’s why the union has teamed up with Lancaster House to offer locals access to an annual subscription to their First Resort service at a reduced price, as a tool to help with the arbitration process.
Lancaster House has announced it is extending the trial access date to Sept. 30, 2024.
First Resort allows locals to research leading cases when dealing with grievances and would be useful for local union executive members and chairpeople to quickly and accurately search for relevant summaries instead of sifting through thick volumes of material.
Every subscribed user will have access for a year to:
Leading Cases on Labour Arbitration Online by Mitchnick and Etherington
This is the regularly-updated digital version by Mitchnick and Etherington.
Unionized Workplaces in Canada: Labour Laws and Contract Clauses
This is a comprehensive, regularly-updated online textbook that covers all legislation and caselaw relevant to unionized workplaces, including the law on organizing workplaces, the law on bargaining in good faith, and arbitration and court decisions.
This textbook also includes over 1,700 contract clauses covering 65 different bargaining topics. By reviewing these clauses, negotiators can see what types of provisions are being negotiated by different employers and unions across Canada.
A searchable database of thousands of eAlerts
Each eAlert is a summary of a major labour law decision from an arbitrator, court, or tribunal that is accompanied by expert commentary on why that decision is important. (From time to time an eAlert might summarize major legislative changes or a significant report that will affect labour relations in Canada.)
Users can search our eAlerts the same way they search for decisions in Westlaw. The difference is that when they search our eAlerts, they get expert summaries and analysis of decisions to help them more quickly decide which decisions are relevant to them (no need to read through a long decision just to decide it's not relevant).
Email updates on major developments in labour law and labour relations
Each time an eAlert is added to the First Resort database, you will receive a short email to let users know about the new development.
Users can decide to receive all of these emails or limit to specific topics.
The regular cost of a paid yearly subscription for an individual local is $5,500, but Lancaster House is providing locals with a free trial until Sept. 30, 2024, and a significantly reduced annual rate.
Please use this link to log in to use the free trial. Any locals who wish to have a trial after that date can contact Lancaster House to request one.
Locals can sign up here for the annual subscription at a reduced price of $150 per person, per year. Upon signing up, Lancaster House will directly email locals with log-in details and any other communications.
Even though the trial ends in mid-September, the offer at this reduced price will remain available with no expiry date. Locals can continue to sign up by contacting @email or 1-888-298-8841.
Lancaster House has also offered to provide a Zoom training session to help locals navigate the First Resort system Thursday, September 19 at 12 p.m. ET. You can register for the session here. Zoom training sessions will be recorded and sent to any locals who sign up for the trial or the service.
For more information, please reach out to Senior Director Katha Fortier at @email.
