MEDIA RELEASE 
April 14, 2026 
 

BCGEU files unfair labour practices complaint against Western Pacific Marine

BURNABY, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) – The BCGEU, representing the unionized workers at the Kootenay Lake ferries, has filed an unfair labour practice complaint at the Labour Relations Board (LRB). The BCGEU takes the position that Western Pacific Marine has refused to sign and implement the terms of the Collective Agreement that members ratified on June 30^th, 2025.
 
The complaint was filed under sections 6(1) and 49(3) of the BC Labour Code. Western Pacific Marine has failed to pay the retroactive pay owed and has not implemented new items in the collective agreement, including day-to-day scheduling, benefit increases and shift differentials.
"In the last round of bargaining, ferry workers fought for and secured a contract that would ensure the long-term survival of safe, reliable ferry service for the ferry-dependent communities," said Sebastian Kallos, BCGEU Vice-President, Component 20, Environment, Technical and Operations. 
 
The new contract was the result of a full year of negotiations between the union and the company, followed by mediation to secure the final agreement. Arbitrator Vince Ready's decision on the terms of the collective agreement (subject to ratification by members) issued in his binding recommendations on June 10, 2025.
 
"The Labour Code is clear: once an agreement is ratified by members, then the agreement comes into full force and effect", said Paul Finch, BCGEU President. "Our members have the right to have their ratified agreement respected by their employer, Western Pacific Marine." 
 
BCGEU and Western Pacific Marine entered mediation in April 2025 after a months-long labour dispute. In June, Arbitrator Vince Ready delivered binding recommendations for a new contract with better wages and working conditions and a day-for-day scheduling system. Both measures are necessary to end staffing shortages that lead to ferry cancellations and would allow for expanded sailing times that the community has been lobbying for.
 
The new agreement is effective April 1^st, 2024, to March 31st, 2028. Western Pacific Marine manages and operates a ferry transportation system on behalf of the BC Ministry of Transportation, with their contract renewal due in 2028. BCGEU members that work at Western Pacific Marine include masters, mates, engineers, deckhands, cable ferry operators, terminal attendants, and marine clerks
 
The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in British Columbia, with over 95,000 members in almost every community and economic sector. 
 
BCGEU Component 20 Vice-President Sebastian Kallos is available for further comment.
 
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Media contact: 
Susan Howatt | BCGEU Communications 

UWU/MoveUP

This day arrives with profound heaviness as we reach 10 years since the toxic drug crisis was declared a public health emergency in British Columbia. In that time, more than 19,000 lives have been lost, including BCGEU members and their loved ones. This loss is unbearable, and it continues every day.  

Our union stands with everyone demanding dignity for all and access to high-quality, evidence-based and voluntary healthcare services. These supports have been needed for years. We also know that in order to heal and establish safety, people need the security and liberty that affordable housing provides. We must keep advocating, knowing that housing is a human right. 

We recognize that this deep and ongoing grief carried by so many, including the workers who have spent the past decade responding to this crisis, is not ending as soon as it must.  Frontline workers have been asked to do the impossible: to offer support in a world that has barriers at every turn, to advocate for the value of human life, and to save lives in a system that continues to fall short. The toll of that work is real, and it matters. 

Ten years into this crisis, the failure to make meaningful progress cannot continue. Incremental steps have not matched the scale or urgency of the loss. We join the calls for urgent action to protect lives and end this crisis. 

Today, we remember those we have lost. We recommit ourselves to pushing for the bold, evidence-based action that this moment demands. In the face of all this adversity, we must carry forward together in loving remembrance of thousands who should still be with us. 

We remember. We grieve. And, together in solidarity, we will keep taking action for change. 

UWU/MoveUP

How to acknowledge Day of Mourning on April 28 

Dear Members, 

Every year on April 28, BCGEU members across the province come together to honour and remember co-workers and family members who were injured, made sick or killed because of something that happened at work. 
 
It is critical that we all remember those workers and reiterate our commitment to fight for the living to prevent further tragedies. Take a moment now to consider how you will acknowledge Day of Mourning on April 28. Here are a few suggestions: 

• Attend a ceremony in your community – see the list here or contact your BCGEU area office.

• Download and post at your worksite the BCGEU's Day of Mourning poster. If you don't have access to a printer, you can request a hard copy to be mailed to you by completing this form by Sunday, April 12, 2026.

• Make an online dedication to those who have died or been injured at work.

• Observe a moment of silence. 

• Share the following statement in your email signature or on social media: 
  On April 28, we honour the lives of those that have been injured or lost their lives to workplace injury or disease in B.C. Visit dayofmourning.bc.ca for more information.

• With your worksites Occupational Health and Safety committee, call on your employer to: 
  • Work with health and safety committees and representatives to ensure safe and healthy working conditions, whatever work is taking place; and 
  • Ensure all workers have access to free personal protective equipment, training and paid sick days so they can stay home when they are ill and not risk exposing co-workers and their community.
• Email, call or meet with your MLA and ask them to call on our provincial government to:
  • Ensure every worker has seamless access to universal, permanent, and adequate paid sick leave, so no one has to choose between going to work sick and getting a paycheque. Being able to stay home when you are sick is fundamental to reducing workplace exposures and illness;
  • Enforce workplace health and safety provisions, including the right to refuse unsafe work; and
  • Deliver on the promise that workplace health and safety is recognized as a fundamental right at work at the International Labour Organization (ILO) this year. 

Download PDF of Day of Mourning Poster here

In solidarity, 

Paul Finch, BCGEU president 

UWU/MoveUP

Pride Season Announcement 

Dear Members, 

The flowers are blooming and the weather is warming up, which means Pride season is approaching! As more communities and Pride Societies roll out their festival dates and event calendars, our union is on a mission to find out how members like you want to celebrate in 2026. 

Let's reimagine Pride in the voice and vision of the 2SLGBTQIA+ workers who call B.C. home! If you're a queer member or ally and want to connect with other 2SLGBTQIA+ workers, organizations and community members in one of the cities or town on our celebration map, sign up to become a rainbow subscriber today: 

Sign up to receive Pride updates here

This is a chance to stay in the loop on everything our union and other local BCGEU members might be doing to celebrate Pride in your community. Let's make Pride our own this year!  

Why the BCGEU Celebrates 

Pride and the labour Movement have a lot in common! The first Pride (aka the 1969 Stonewall Protests) was a rally-cry for equity from a working-class neighbourhood in reaction to Manhattan police violently raiding a local gay bar.

Protesters flooded the streets, refusing second class citizenry – a fight that unions know well. This push to affirm one's right to exist, to live and love to the fullest, and to work without discrimination, marked the beginning of a fierce and jubilant movement that continues to this day.

Anyone who's been on a picket line or part of an organizing drive knows that having fun and fighting for basic rights go hand-in-hand. The queer community has been embracing this duality for decades. As a union of 95,000+ members, there's lots of overlap between our labour family and the rainbow family. A healthy democracy is one where all members can participate in the BCGEU to their fullest.

In addition to building platforms on which 2SLGBTQIA+ members can flex their activism and grow their voice and leadership, the BCGEU also commits to providing members with resources to advance equity in our communities. Pride is a great opportunity to do that! 
 

In solidarity, 

Executive Vice President & Chair of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Committee, Tristen Wybou

UWU/MoveUP

TEMPORARY BUSINESS ANALYST (AR2)

DEVELOPMENT & RECORDS

JOB ID: T0430

INTERNAL / EXTERNAL POSTING

February 17, 2026

Reporting to the Director, Development & Records, the Business Analyst ensures continuity of business analysis capacity for the Development team while providing dedicated analysis support for BCGEU's mobile application initiative. The role works with stakeholders to translate defined features and emerging needs into development-ready user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritized backlogs. The Business Analyst will also support solution evaluation and delivery planning for a mobile application under either an in-house build or third-party vendor delivery model and will adapt focus accordingly.

Term of assignment: Temporary – 12 months

Key Responsibilities:

1. Requirements Gathering & Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage with organizational stakeholders to assess initial requirements and understand their needs, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of project scope. This includes organizing and facilitating requirements elicitation sessions with union members and other internal stakeholders.
• Translate business needs into clear, well-defined business requirements that can be implemented by the Development team and/or vendors.
• Present requirements to internal technical teams for solution discussion and estimation, working to clarify and refine vague or unclear requirements.
• Collaborate closely with internal teams to ensure alignment on project goals and user needs.

2. Business Analysis & Documentation

• Conduct business analysis to define detailed requirements for organizational change requests, software development, and service enhancements.
• Develop comprehensive documentation, including user-facing requirements documents and collaborating in the creation or review of Statements of Work (SOWs), following a standard document lifecycle. This includes documenting software features and business processes.
• Break down software feature requirements into actionable user stories and implementation and configuration tasks for development teams and technical staff.
• Manage Jira backlogs of user stories, bugs, and tasks.
• Create and maintain a product decision registry
• Facilitate requirements refinement with the Development team.
• Facilitate release planning with the Development team.
• Work closely with QA to clarify requirements, define acceptance criteria, and support verification that delivered software meets agreed-upon specifications.
• Ensure all project documentation is accurate, up to date, and easily accessible for stakeholders.

3. Mobile App Initiative – Solution Evaluation and Delivery Model Support (Build/Buy)

• Support the evaluation of delivery options (build vs. buy) by eliciting and documenting requirements, constraints, and decision criteria, and translating them into comparable vendor and/or build-ready artifacts.
• If BCGEU builds: translate defined mobile application features into a structured backlog of epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria; facilitate refinement with the Development team; and support release planning for mobile delivery.
• If BCGEU buys: act as the business analysis liaison with the third-party vendor by managing requirements clarification, backlog alignment, issue escalation, and change control; coordinate stakeholder input and review cycles; and ensure deliverables meet agreed specifications.
• Document and validate mobile-specific non-functional requirements (e.g., authentication, privacy/data handling, performance, accessibility, offline/poor connectivity behaviour, notifications, analytics/telemetry, and release/update cadence).
• Coordinate end-to-end readiness activities including UAT support, stakeholder sign-off, and go-live/change communications in collaboration with the Director and technical lead.

4. Delivery Support & Agile Practices

• Facilitate decision-making by documenting options, impacts, and recommendations; escalate scope/priority decisions to the Director and designated business owners.
• Ensure the timely and accurate updating of user stories and tasks within the ticket management system.
• Run agile ceremonies such as refinement, sprint planning, sprint review, and ongoing activities like daily scrums.

5. Stakeholder Communication & Risk Management

• Communicate clearly and regularly with both internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure project objectives and timelines are well understood.
• Identify, document, and escalate product and project risks, including assumptions, dependencies, and constraints, and support mitigation planning with the Director and business owners.
• Foster strong relationships with stakeholders, ensuring their concerns are addressed and their expectations are managed effectively.
• Provide detailed and regular status updates to leadership and key stakeholders on project progress and deliverables.

6. Perform other duties as assigned.

Education & Relevant Experience: 

• A university degree in computer science, business, or a related discipline with a focus on IT, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of relevant experience as a business analyst and/or Product Owner working directly with software development teams in an agile environment.
• Experience with writing user stories and working in Agile and Scrum methodologies.
• Experience planning and managing software releases spanning multiple components/products.
• Direct experience delivering at least one mobile application release (Android and/or iOS) as a BA/PO, including requirements/user stories, acceptance criteria, and release coordination, under either an in-house build or vendor delivery model.
• Experience working with third-party vendors on software delivery (requirements clarification, change control, acceptance/sign-off) is required or strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency in product and project risk management.
• A clear understanding of how to identify, document, and manage assumptions, dependencies, and constraints.
• Experience working in or with unions or knowledge of the labour movement is considered an asset.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities: 

• Practical understanding of mobile app delivery constraints and lifecycle (store releases, device/OS fragmentation, notification behaviour, authentication patterns, telemetry/analytics, and support/update cadence).
• Ability to translate business needs into vendor-ready artifacts (requirement packages, clarification logs, acceptance criteria, and structured feedback cycles).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex business and technical concepts clearly.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to assess business needs and translate them into actionable requirements.
• Proven ability to influence and collaborate at all levels of the organization and with external partners.
• A solid understanding of mobile apps and their supporting infrastructure is an asset.
• High degree of personal integrity, credibility, and professionalism in dealing with stakeholders.

SALARY RANGE:

Bi-Weekly: $3,385.27 - $4,932.63

Annually: $88,319.32 - $128,688.86

How to Apply:

Please note that temporary and probationary employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements.

The BCGEU supports employment equity. Indigenous workers, workers of color, women, 2SLGBTQI+ workers, and workers with disabilities are encouraged to apply for positions with the BCGEU.

Please include only one attachment with your application. If you need to include both a cover letter and a resume, combine them into a single file before uploading. Please reference the Position Title and the Job ID in the subject line when submitting your application. Applications with multiple attachments may be rejected.

Resumes will be accepted by e-mail to: [email protected]

UWU/MoveUP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 30, 2026 
 

BCGEU calls on Province to allow employees to work from home to help combat fuel crisis 

BURNABY, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) – 

To help conserve fuel and save on the cost of gas, the BCGEU is calling on the provincial government to allow provincially regulated employees, where possible, to work from home full time. 

BCGEU is joining the call by the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) asking governments to implement the International Energy Agency’s recommendations for reducing demand on oil and gas.   

“The increasing price of gas places an undue burden on workers across the province” said BCGEU President Paul Finch. “The provincial government has an opportunity to help alleviate that burden by allowing workers the flexibility to work from home. In addition to lessening the pain workers are feeling at the pump, this move would help reduce emissions and congestion.” 

The union is also asking government to explore options to provide temporary relief for those workers who travel extensively for work (e.g. home support and community outreach workers) and who may not have many options for public transportation if fuel prices remain high. 

The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in British Columbia, with over 95,000 members in almost every community and economic sector, including nearly 35,000 public service workers. 

BCGEU President Paul Finch is available for further comment. 

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Media Contact:  
Nadja Komnenic | BCGEU Communications | 604-442-2289 | [email protected]  

UWU/MoveUP

To:               All BCGEU Members in Area 10

Date:           April 8, 2026

Re:              Wills and Estate Planning

Location:    Virtual Online Presentation

Time:          7pm – 8pm Presentation

                   8pm – 8:30pm Question Period 

Your Area 10 Cross Component Committee is pleased to be hosting a presentation on "Wills and Estate Planning" on April 8, 2026, put on by Corvus Law.

All Area 10 members are invited to attend.

Please RSVP by clicking on the link below. Once you have RSVP'd the meeting link will be sent to you.

RSVP:Click here to RSVP
The meeting link will be sent to you in your RSVP confirmation email.

In solidarity
Area 10 Cross Component Committee

Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 20, 2026 

BCGEU community health workers ratify four-year deal to close long-standing pay gaps 

BURNABY, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) – More than 27,000 community health workers across the province have ratified a new four-year collective agreement aimed at narrowing long-standing wage gaps and strengthening frontline community care across the province. 

The agreement between the member unions of the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) was ratified with more than 91 per cent support. The B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) is the lead union in the association, representing over 16,000 members. 

"In this round of bargaining, community health workers were determined to close long-standing pay gaps and win a clear path toward parity with other health care workers doing similar jobs - and they achieved that," said Scott De Long, Bargaining Chair and BCGEU Vice-President, Component 8, Community Health Services. "But these negotiations were never just about money. Pay gaps create care gaps. The progress made in this round is good for workers and good for the growing number of British Columbians who rely on community health services." 

The new four-year agreement includes annual wage increases of three per cent in each year, improved weekend and afternoon premium pay, strong occupational health and safety protections, funding for health benefit improvements, and a more predictable scheduling system among other gains. 

Community health workers provide essential services across B.C., including home support, shelters and supportive housing, clinics, detox and treatment programs, mental health group homes, and regional health units. 

The new agreement is effective April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2029. 

About 10,000 members of the CBA belong to six other unions including UFCW, HEU, HSA, CUPE, USWA and BCNU. For more visit: https://www.bargainingbc.ca/community_health 

The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in British Columbia, with over 95,000 members in almost every community and economic sector. 

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Media contact:
Bronwen Barnett | BCGEU Communications | 604-719-4713 | [email protected]

UWU/MoveUP

Apply now: NUPGE Scholarships 2026 

Dear Members, 
 

Applications are now open for the nine National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) scholarships of $2,500. 

These scholarships are offered to a child or grandchild (including a foster child or foster grandchild) or a legal ward of a current or retired member of a NUPGE component or component affiliate. Because BCGEU is a member of NUPGE, you and your family may be eligible to apply. With the exception of the Young Worker Scholarship, applicants must be planning to enter their first year of full or part-time public, post-secondary education in the coming year. 

Applicants for the Young Workers Scholarship do not have to be entering their first year of studies but must be under the age of 35 as of the scholarship deadline. 

Each scholarship winner will be determined based on a 750-1,000-word essay. Marks are allocated for content, presentation, and adherence to the essay topic. Find more details here.

The deadline for applications is July 15, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. PDT. 

If you have any questions, please contact National Representative Deborah Duffy via email at [email protected]. 

In solidarity, 

Paul Finch, BCGEU President 

UWU/MoveUP