Home support is the most cost-efficient way to take care of seniors and people with physical disabilities. It allows them to live longer, healthier and happier lives.
Community health workers are trained professionals, but funding cuts have made it hard for them to do their jobs.
The provincial government’s recent funding commitment covers a number of areas including home support, but we need to ensure proper implementation of the plan.
The housing crisis is denying BC's working class the ability to own or rent a home that fits their needs. Rents are skyrocketing, and wages cannot keep up. To make life more affordable we need to strike at the root of the housing crisis. An Affordable B.C. is possible.
Shopping public means making your purchases at a BC Liquor Store or BC Cannabis Store. These stores are owned and operated by us – the public – through the BC Liquor Distribution Branch of our government.
Shopping at BC Liquor Stores and BC Cannabis Stores is vital to our communities because our purchases generate millions in revenue that are spent on public services – like child care and health care – and sustain thousands of secure, stable jobs.
Shopping public also means supporting workers who have the experience and knowledge to responsibly support customers. These workers, who are employed by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) in stores and warehouses across the province, have been working steadily on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while generating record revenues for the province. They continue this work without recognition or essential pay, despite asking the provincial government for it.
All libraries, large or small, at their heart provide the same core services – books, computer access, and connection to the larger world. In small communities libraries reflect their communities and meet broad needs including personal connection. Programs and partnerships become ways for the community to share knowledge and connect to others. The library becomes a space to honour local traditions, share ideas and catch up with neighbours.
It’s more important than ever to protect and promote these important cultural hubs in rural areas of our province.
The BCGEU is launching the My Library: Heart of the Community campaign to raise awareness of the important role that libraries play in small communities.
The BCGEU has long recognized that a healthy environment is essential to the well-being and prosperity of all working people and their communities. At the same time, BCGEU members are increasingly concerned about environmental issues and the effects of climate change. In 2005, the union struck the Provincial Executive Environment Committee to examine environmental issues in B.C. and across Canada. Through this work, the committee seeks to contribute to better environmental stewardship and climate change solutions, as well as support a just transition as the world moves to more sustainable methods of production.
Community social services support youth and adults with developmental disabilities and Aboriginal communities. They help women facing domestic violence, the homeless, individuals battling addictions. They work to strengthen families through counselling, and help youth in conflict with the law. They provide kids with a great start to life through early childhood education and learning.
The BCGEU Young Workers Committee is comprised of members 30 and under who encourage young people to get active in all areas of the union.
Check out Young Workers Committee Flickr album.
The BCGEU is recognized as a leader in fighting for women's rights in the workplace and the community. The BCGEU has a long and proud herstory of representing women member, who presently make up two-thirds of the total BCGEU membership.
Watch We are the union: Women's Work, a documentary produced by the Provincial Executive Women's Committee that celebrates the achievements of union women throughout history.
Terms of reference:
WOMEN'S COMMITTEE
The BCGEU Women's Committee is involved in the following:
Check back for a list of labour-supported events in communities across B.C. All BCGEU members are invited to take part in these events.
BCGEU Members, as part of a global community, have made supporting international social justice and labour solidarity causes a priority for our union. Our jobs and the delivery of important public services for British Columbians are impacted by developments in other countries.
Our International Solidarity Committee supports and collaborates with a number of organizations to advance working people's interests around the world.
CURRENT ACTIONS:
What does our International Solidarity Committee do?
BCGEU Members, as part of a global community, have made supporting international social justice and labour solidarity causes a priority for our union. Our jobs and the delivery of important public services for British Columbians are impacted by developments in other countries.
Partner organizations:
View the list of partner organizations
Do you know a project or organization that would be a good candidate for support from our International Solidarity Committee?
Let us know by filling out and sending in an application to [email protected] and [email protected]:
As Canadians, we have the rights to be treated fairly and with equality. These rights extend into our workplace. In our workplace, we have the right to be treated fairly and without discrimination based on our gender, sex, disability, race, religion, or age.
Despite the laws that protect us such as the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; which our country helped write, we still face racism and discrimination in our workplaces and in our communities.
Click here to access the equity survey.
The BCGEU works closely with our national union (NUPGE) and the Canadian Labour Congress to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and in our society and continues to do so.
The BCGEU is committed to ensuring that our activities and events are accessible to our members from all equity-seeking groups, and to connecting with and supporting our diverse membership. BCGEU members who identify with one or more of the four equity groups have joined the BCGEU Equity Network, and we would like to encourage you to sign up!
The Equity Network groups are:
Signing up to the Equity Network puts you on a confidential mailing list and you receive information, news stories and invitations to BCGEU-sponsored cultural and community events. We also welcome any interesting articles or events from your community that you would like us to distribute to the Network.
The email and contact list is kept confidential. Unless you agree by indicating on the form that you want to be contacted by other members of your equity group, there is no distribution of your email for any other purpose.
If you haven’t signed up yet, please click here to download and submit the survey form.
If you have any questions or require further information please contact the Equity and Human Rights Officer Earl Moloney, (email), or phone (604) 291-9611 or 1-800-663-1674.
Check out the Equity & Human Rights Photo Gallery
Download PDF file of the 2014 Aboriginal Roundtable Report
BCGEU member Kiran Kang shares her thoughts in the latest installment of the "My Life, My Union" series featured in a number of newspapers. Kang is a member of the union's provincial Women's Committee and a member of the Equity Network. Read about Kang here.
Mimi Murray, a steward at the Surrey City Centre branch of Vancity, is profiled here.
Former BCGEU Vice-President Lorene Oikawa on being active in thhe BCGEU, is profiled here.
The BCGEU takes the issue of workplace bullying very seriously. We're putting mechanisms in place to address the problem, such as educating our members about bullying and negotiating anti-bullying language in our collective agreements.
Our successes include:
Pink Shirt Day is an annual event meant to remind us about the misery caused by bullying. The “pink” campaign began in Nova Scotia in 2007 when two high school students learned a fellow student had been threatened for wearing a pink polo shirt. To support their friend, the teens bought 50 pink shirts and tank tops and urged others to wear them in support of anti-bullying. When the bullied student walked into school, he saw his fellow students dressed in pink. It was a powerful, supportive moment. When a large of group of people stand up against bullies in support of the victim, bullies lose all their power. Schools and workplaces across Canada have since adopted the campaign.
Visit the resources section below for anti-bullying posters and materials you can download and print for your worksite.
Pink Shirt Day is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24. The BCGEU is, for a fourth year, partnering with the CKNW Orphan's Fund.
A BCGEU-themed public service announcement will air on CKNW during the month of February 2016.
2015 EVENT INFORMATION Pink Shirt Day is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25. The BCGEU is, for a third year, partnering with the CKNW Orphan's Fund. We'll have more information on ways BCGEU members can get involved, closer to the date. So, please keep checking back.
A BCGEU-themed public service announcement will air on CKNW during the month of February 2015. You can hear it here.
Since 2013, the BCGEU partnered with Vancouver radio station CKNW on its annual Orphans' Fund Pink Shirt Day. We were a proud sponsor again in 2014.
As part of our sponsorship, CKNW will air a public service message we've produced. Listen to it here.
The message will air on CKNW Radio between February 1 and Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, February 26, 2014.
We'll also participate in a radio interview airing on the Simi Sara Show.
As well, our activists participated in a special Pink Shirt Day event in downtown Vancouver. See CKNW's Pink Shirt Day website.
See our Pink Shirt Day 2014 photo gallery. Includes photos of the anti-bullying awareness luncheon co-sponsored by the BCGEU, PAVCO and Centerplate at BC Place on February 26, 2014.
News release about sponsors and guests at the campaign event in downtown Vancouver on February 27, 2013. Photos of BCGEU members at Pink Shirt Day 2013.
Click on image to download colour version for any BCGEU-member worksite
Click on image to download black & white version for any BCGEU-member worksite
Use AVERY 5163 sticker stock when you print.
Click on the image to
download a pdf on
how to handle
bullying in the workplace.
The BCGEU recognizes and supports treaty negotiations and the right of self-government and self-determination for First Nations.
BCGEU Headquarters is on the unceded and shared traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skxwú7mesh (Squamish) & Səlí̓ lwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.