The Society was honoured once again at the Toronto and York District Labour Council’s Bromley Awards. Since 2005, the Bromley Lloyd Armstrong Awards Gala has been celebrating the work being done in the labour movement in human rights, equity and inclusion.
This year, the Society received an award for successfully unionizing staff at Aboriginal Legal Services (ASL), and for its broader work in support of Indigenous rights.
ALS staff play a crucial role in improving access to justice for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people across Ontario. Members saw unionization as a crucial step in strengthening the organization and increasing fairness in the workplace. The Society was proud to welcome ALS staff into the union in 2019.
The Society was also recognized for its work through the Indigenous Relations Circle, an Indigenous-led committee that helps shape the policies and practices of the union through an Indigenous lens. Through the leadership of the Indigenous Relations Circle, the Society is empowered to fight for the rights of its Indigenous members across workplaces.
The Society was acknowledged for centering reconciliation in its dealings with employers. It calls on employers to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from impacted Indigenous communities in their development projects. And the union has worked to negotiate Sept. 30th – The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – as a holiday in its collective agreements.
Congratulations to members Audrey Huntley and Oyebode (Bode) Ibidapo-Obe
Society member Audrey Huntley from the Aboriginal Legal Services Local was awarded the Indigenous Rights Award for Individual Excellence. Audrey is a tireless leader for Indigenous rights, and was nominated for her decades of work and advocacy. At Aboriginal Legal Services, she led the effort to bring the Society in to represent the workers at the clinic. She is a co-founder of “No More Silence,” (NMS) which advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women, trans and two-spirited people and their families. In 2011, NMS created the first Indigenous-led community database of MMIWG2S. And last year, NMS created the Raónraon Hummingbird Healing Lodge, an accessible sweat lodge for people with disabilities in Six Nations.
Society member Oyebode (Bode) Ibidapo-Obe won the Bromley Lloyd Armstrong Award (Individual) for Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion. Ibidapo-Obe served as the co-chair of the Employee Resource Group at Hydro One, an amalgamation of equity-seeking groups. As part of his activism against anti-Black racism, he performed a workplace analysis that was brought before Hydro One’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leadership team. His work eventually led to the creation of the Black Employee Resource Circle, which creates a space for Black employees to connect, expand professional networks, build community, and foster representation and inclusion.
