Dear members of Component 1,

The BCGEU will soon be asking Component 1 members to vote on our tentative agreements. Your Component Bargaining committee would like to ensure you understand some key facts before casting your vote. 

Did you know there are two collective agreements?

1. Component Agreement – Contains specific language related to your occupation such as uniform issue, shift patterns, vacation scheduling etc. This is non-monetary and new language cannot be renegotiated if voted down.
2. Main Agreement – Covers items such as pay, special leaves, vacation, and STIIP. This can be renegotiated if not ratified.

In both 2019 and 2022, Component 1 members voted not to ratify the proposed Component Agreement language. Because of that, we've been working under the same agreement that was ratified back in 2014 - over a decade ago.

Your bargaining team worked hard to modernize and improve that outdated language. Just like the Public Service Bargaining committee, the Component Bargaining committee was facing an uphill battle with a strong mandate from the employer. We achieved progress on some important provisions, even if we couldn't secure every single improvement we wanted. The result is a stronger Component Agreement.

But here's what's critical to understand:

• If we fail to ratify the Component Agreement, we lose every gain we've made.
• We do not return to the bargaining table to fix or adjust language.

• We'll have to start from scratch - and wait another four years before we can try again.

Your voice and your vote are powerful. Let's move forward together with a renewed agreement that builds on progress instead of letting years of hard work go to waste - Ensuring that we can focus our efforts on your new proposals in the next round.

Your Component 1 bargaining committee strongly supports ratification of the 18th Component Agreement. The Component 1 Memorandum of Settlement with all details on the new component agreement will come out early next week.

Let's keep moving forward - VOTE YES!

In solidarity,

Your Component 1 Bargaining Committee

Dean Purdy 
Ira Kibbe
Edmund Quan
Mehdi Salem 
Dave Iorizzo
Kelli Zimmerman

UWU/MoveUP