Friends,

As I wrote to you on January 30, our Provincial Executive decided in January 2025 to create a new component – Component 14 Indigenous Services – and six new locals. This decision was based on the recommendation of the PE Indigenous Advisory Committee and the Indigenous Sector Council with elected representatives from each area of the province representing your certifications.

As a member of this new component, you now have the important responsibility of electing members to run your locals. Please note:

• The first step in the election process is nominating candidates. Nomination forms can be found here and can be submitted March 29-April 28, 2025.

• Elections for your local will take place in late April/early May 2025 and will be conducted by online ballot. To receive your voting credentials, you must provide your personal email address in the BCGEU Member Portal. To vote, you must have signed a BCGEU membership card which, if you haven't yet, can be done here. 

• Every position on the new Component 14 local executives is available for election in 2025. To see all the positions, select your local here.

• The timeline for Component 14 local elections is later than the other BCGEU local elections, to allow time for you to learn about the process and your new component. 

• Further details about local elections can be found below and here. 

I also encourage you to join myself and BCGEU Executive Vice-Presidents Coralie Gregorie and Tristen Wybou on Zoom to get answers to all your questions about local elections and your new component. We will host two online town halls, which you can access below.

• Wednesday March 12 @ 12:30-1:30pm - access here 

• Thursday March 13 @ 7:00-8:00 pm – access here 

Submit your question here in advance of the town halls to ensure it gets answered.

If you have questions in the meantime, please review these FAQs or reply to this email.

In solidarity,

Paul Finch, BCGEU President 

 

Local elections

As a member of a democratic, member-driven union, you have rights and responsibilities. One of the most important responsibilities is electing your representatives. And, as a member of a new BCGEU component, you now have the responsibility of nominating and electing fellow members to run your local.

A local is the basic administrative body of our union. It consists of all union members in a defined geographic area who work in a similar occupational group. Every three years or – in the case of a new component – you and your coworkers elect an executive to run the local.

Local executives coordinate the education and work of stewards and occupational health and safety representatives, meet periodically to discuss important issues and send representatives to a provincial-wide representative body for the entire occupational group (called the component executive).

Each local is governed by their own bylaws which determine the structure of their executive.

A well-run local is critical for maintaining our democratic character as a union and is the best protection for workers that ensures any problems at a worksite are dealt with as smoothly as possible.

In the best run locals, there is a close relationship between stewards, worksites and the component and provincial executives as information flows between the various elected representatives of our union.

Elected local executives receive training to carry out their duties. These are volunteer roles, but there is limited leave-of-absence coverage for some functions.

Being on a local executive is a great way to get involved with our union and make connections with other activists from across your community and the province. It is not a ceremonial role – there is lots of interesting work to be done. On average, local officers meet at minimum two times a year and maximum once per month. Executive members are expected to attend all local meetings and, if their role demands it, component meetings as well.

To be nominated to run in the local election, you must be a member of the local, must physically conduct work in that local and must have the endorsement of at least one other member of the local. Nomination forms can be found here.

Elections are conducted by secret online ballot, with each member of a local getting one vote. You must provide your personal email address in the BCGEU Member Portal to receive your voting credentials – update your contact info now.

For more information about Local Elections 2025, visit https://www.bcgeu.ca/local-elections

UWU/MoveUP