VICTORIA-The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union is praising Budget 2019 as a prudent plan to clean up the messes left by the previous government, invest in critical public services, and prove that British Columbians don't need to choose between economic strength, environmental sustainability and the health, safety, and prosperity of their families and communities. But the union that represents tens of thousands of provincial government and public service workers says the devil will be in the details as far as how the government's plans impact their members.

"There is a lot for our members and all British Columbians to be happy about in this budget," said BCGEU president, Stephanie Smith. "It essentially charts a series of small but significant steps along the same path the government laid out in their first budget update in 2017 and reaffirmed in last year's budget."

BCGEU members work in every community across the province and every sector of the economy. More than two-thirds BCGEU members work in direct government-from providing administrative and technical support in ministry offices, to frontline social workers, corrections officers, and wildfire fighters-and the broader public service-including child care, health care, community social services, post-secondary education, and highways maintenance.

"Our members have been pushing for years for more investment in public services, it's great to see that the government has taken that message to heart," continued Smith. "And the affordability measures announced today will really add up-measures like the BC Child Opportunity Benefit and the elimination of MSP premiums will be life-changing for working families."

"The big question moving forward is how this budget will impact BCGEU members on the frontlines of service delivery. Every new program and initiative announced today means a change to the working lives of our members," said Smith. "On their behalf I will be working with government to ensure that this budget is implemented in a way that respects not just the British Columbians who rely on these services but the workers who deliver them. Those are the details that we will need to work out over the coming days and weeks."

The BCGEU represents roughly 78,000 members across British Columbia. Stephanie Smith was first elected president of the BCGEU in 2014 and was re-elected in 2017.

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The BCGEU Provincial Executive has acclaimed Joanna Lord, Component 7 Vice President, to fill the Executive Vice President position left vacant when Sussanne Skidmore was elected Secretary Treasurer of the BC Federation of Labour in November.

"On behalf of the BCGEU I want to thank Sussanne for her years of service to our members, our union, and our movement," said BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "We are so proud of Sussanne's success at the BC Fed and, of course, we look forward to working with her in that role."

"Joanna has been a strong voice for Component 7 on the Provincial Executive," said Stephanie. "I'm excited to work with her in this new position and I know her experience as an activist, her passion for social justice, and the skills she has honed as a post-secondary instructor will make her a great EVP."

Joanna started her teaching career as an instructor at Malaspina College (which is now Vancouver Island University) in 2005. A long-time union member and supporter of trade unionism, Joanna's path to union activism started in 2008 as a full-time instructor in the Adult Basic Education Department at Malaspina when she eagerly sought out her BCGEU Steward to help with a worksite issue and learned firsthand the power of her new union and her collective agreement. From that moment onward she took every opportunity to learn about her union and get involved, eventually serving as a Local Chair as well as on bargaining committees and Component Exec.

Joanna is just as passionate about her union's work on social justice initiatives as a way of improving the working lives, families and communities of BCGEU's members and all working people in British Columbia.

Joanna will serve in the position of EVP until the next scheduled BCGEU convention in 2020, when the position will be open for election to BCGEU members and delegates.

Photo caption:
The BCGEU executive committee (l-r): EVP Kari Michaels, EVP Doug Kinna, EVP James Coccola, EVP Joanna Lord, President Stephanie Smith, Treasurer Paul Finch.


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Due to inclement weather, the following BCGEU offices will be closed on Tuesday, February 12:

• Headquarters (Burnaby)
• Victoria Area Office (Area 01 - Victoria)
• North Island Area Office (Area 02 - Nanaimo)
• Lower Mainland Area Office (Area 03 - Vancouver)
• Fraser Valley Area Office (Area 04 - Langley)

Any further updates will be made on this website.

If you are a BCGEU member and need emergency support at your worksite, please contact your union steward.

We expect that the offices will re-open on Wednesday, February 13.

Art Kube was born in Poland in 1935 and raised by a trade unionist mother, on her own along with two children, while his father was taken prisoner of war in the Soviet Union. He kicked off his life-long work to fight for workers' rights as an executive in the youth wing of the Metal Workers union before immigrating to Canada in 1953 as a nineteen-year-old.

Art wore many hats over the years, from a steel fabricator and heavy equipment operator to miner. He was an organizer with the United Steelworkers and then a representative with the Canadian Labour Congress in the 1960s.

Art was the President of the BC Federation of Labour from 1983 to 1986. As Chairperson for Operation Solidarity in 1983, he had a front-row seat to one of the most difficult and tumultuous chapters in Canadian labour history. His leadership and determination during that time left a permanent mark, and inspired generations of activists.

Art was active well beyond his retirement, advocating for seniors' rights across the country, and serving as president of the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations and National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation.

In 2015, Art Kube was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, to recognize and honour his deep commitment to working people and communities.

The following year, Art told the Labour Heritage Centre: "I truly hope that I have been able to help make a difference in this world and that the legacy of my life will live on in my children, grandchildren and the many people that I have been honoured to work with and serve in my life." 

The BCGEU offers its condolences to Art's wife Mary and his family as we remember his legacy and his decades of contributions to the labour and social justice movements. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2019

(BURNABY) – The BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) released polling results on British Columbians' attitudes toward a public inquiry into organized crime, money laundering and the overdose crisis in B.C. 

The results demonstrate overwhelming support for a public inquiry:

• 77 per cent of British Columbians in favour of an inquiry.
• 80 per cent of respondents say that an anti-corruption office similar to the one in Quebec should be established in B.C.
• 84 per cent say that this would be an important voting issue for them if a provincial election were called tomorrow.

"This poll backs up what we've been saying for months: British Columbians want answers," says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "No matter where they live, how old they are or who they vote for the citizens of our province support a comprehensive public inquiry as a way to get to the bottom of how these crises are connected, to make sure those who are responsible are held accountable and that the rest of us are protected going forward. Anything less would be a disservice to the public." 

The poll, conducted by Research Co., is the third poll on the subject of money laundering the firm has compiled since June. The results demonstrate broad-based support across age, gender, region, voting preference and ethnicity. 

"The interest from British Columbians on figuring out all aspects related to money laundering in the province has not subsided," said Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. "There is only a minuscule proportion of residents who believe there is no need for a public inquiry on this matter, and nearly universal support for the eventual establishment of an anti-corruption commission in British Columbia. While there is definitely some satisfaction with the fact that the provincial government is discussing money laundering in the open, voters of all political stripes are eager to see more action on this file."

The BCGEU is uniquely positioned to call for an inquiry as this crisis has impacted union membership in a number of ways. The housing affordability crisis was identified by members as a top concern leading the union to launch its Affordable BC Plan in 2017. As well, members in health care, social services, transit, libraries and casinos, along with deputy sheriffs and correctional officers, have been thrust into first responder roles on the frontlines of the overdose crisis, and have been working hard to tackle its impact.

Two weeks ago, the union launched a campaign calling on the provincial government to launch a public inquiry into organized crime, opioids and money laundering in B.C. The campaign has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures. The launch of the campaign follows the union's call for an inquiry and subsequent letter to government in December 2018.

The polling results are based on an online study conducted from February 1 to February 5, 2019, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error-which measures sample variability-is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Link to Data Tables

Link to Factum

Link to the Public Inquiry petition

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For more information contact:

Emma Pullman, BCGEU | (604)-473-5479 |
email: emma.pullman@bcgeu.ca
Mario Canseco, President Research Co. |
email: mario.canseco@researchco.ca


***

The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in B.C. with over 78,000 members in almost every community and economic sector in the province.

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The BCGEU wants the government to provide answers, saying a full inquiry is needed into money laundering in this province. John Hua has more.

See video here...

The union representing thousands of workers in B.C. says the provincial government must hold a public inquiry to examine organized crime, the opioid crisis, money-laundering and its connection to real estate.

The B.C. Government and Service Employees Union says in a news release that an inquiry is the best way to learn the truth about a crisis that has claimed thousands of lives, and made B.C. the most unaffordable province to live in Canada.

Read more...

BCGEU calls for public inquiry into organized crime, opioids and money laundering in B.C.
 
January 21, 2019
 
BURNABY – Today the BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) launched a campaign calling on the provincial government to launch a public inquiry into organized crime, opioids and money laundering in B.C. The campaign follows the union's call for an inquiry and subsequent letter to government in December 2018.
 
Following the collapse of the E-Pirate investigation – a RCMP money laundering probe that started in 2015 – a public inquiry is the best way to learn the truth about a crisis that has claimed thousands of lives, and has made B.C. the most unaffordable province to live in.
 
Neither Attorney General David Eby nor Premier Horgan have ruled out the possibility of calling for a public inquiry into the crisis, and the BCGEU is hoping that public support will push the government to act on this vital issue.
 
"The links between organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering leading to skyrocketing real estate prices in B.C. cannot go unexamined," says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. "British Columbians deserve answers so that those responsible can be held accountable, but also so we can take meaningful action to safeguard our communities from further harm."
 
The effects of this multi-layered crisis have reached every corner of the province and have impacted the union's members in a number of ways. BCGEU members from health care, social services, libraries, and casinos to deputy sheriffs and correctional officers have been thrust into first responder roles on the frontlines of the opioid crisis. In response to this situation, the BCGEU launched a province-wide education and training initiative in 2017: Stop the Fentanyl Crisis
 
At their 2017 convention, BCGEU members passed multiple resolutions calling for action on the housing affordability crisis as well. In response, the union launched its Affordable BC campaign in late 2017 with particular focus on the issues affecting urban centres like Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.
 
"Our union has been working hard to support members as they face the challenges of both the opioid and housing crises, but it's time to take the next step. We need to have a public inquiry," says Smith. "Together, we can, and we must put a stop to this and restore the rule of law in our province."
 
The union's campaign asks the public to sign a petition to show Premier Horgan that they support an inquiry into organized crime, opioids, and money laundering in B.C.
 
https://www.publicinquirynow.ca
 
For more information contact Bronwen Barnett, BCGEU Communications, communications@bcgeu.ca.

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BURNABY - The BCGEU has been closely monitoring the developing situation at the Unist'ot'en camp. As a trade union committed to supporting the full implementation of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the recommendations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we are concerned that police action has been used to suppress the rights of both peaceful protesters and the media.

We urge the RCMP, Coastal Gaslink and the provincial government to work with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership and the elected council to resolve the current dispute in the spirit of the principles articulated in those documents.

The Wet'suwet'en people have inherent Indigenous rights and title that must be recognized and respected. What happens at the Unist'ot'en camp could have lasting repercussions for generations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous British Columbians.

The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in B.C. with over 77,000 members across the province working in every sector of the economy.

For more information contact Bronwen Barnett, BCGEU Communications, communications@bcgeu.ca

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