Announcing the BCGEU Strike Coordinating Committee for BCFMA 

A strike coordinating committee (SCC) has been struck for this dispute and will hold its first meeting today. SCC membership is as follows:
 

 BCGEU policy mandates the SCC to "ensure that the potential strike action is organized and coordinated". Specific SCC responsibilities include:

• Developing a list of picket captains with relevant contact information
• Ensuring a method of rapid communication from the SCC to the picket captains and from picket captains to members on strike
• Ensuring that supplies are ready for the potential strike action, including a strike headquarters, picket signs, restrooms, garbage collection and disposal, and food and beverage
• Scheduling of strike shifts and ensuring that meaningful strike duties are available for all members
• Coordinating with all necessary staff across all union departments

To the final point re coordination across departments, you will see that the SCC includes staff specialists in law, health and safety, communications, campaigns, physical picket line needs, strike pay administration, etc. While the SCC is responsible for overall strike planning and coordination, day-to-day strike activities at each of the worksites will be coordinated out of the respective BCGEU Area Offices in conjunction with picket captains from the bargaining unit. Members are represented on the SCC via your bargaining committee chair, component vice-president and local chairs.

You can expect to hear more from the SCC as it prepares to implement your mandate.

Bargaining Update
 
Your Employer has invited your bargaining committee to resume negotiations and we have agreed. The parties will meet on July 15 and 22, 2020. To assist in these negotiations, your bargaining committee has sought the appointment of a mediator under section 74 of the Labour Relations Code, and today the Labour Relations Board appointed Grant McArthur, Director of the Mediation Division, to confer with the parties. Note that mediators assist parties in reaching freely negotiated settlements; they cannot impose terms and conditions of employment.
 
Despite your bargaining committee's ongoing willingness to engage with your Employer in good faith-including when we meet in the next two weeks-we are not confident that additional negotiations will resolve the current impasse. To that end, strike preparation will continue in earnest despite these additional talks. We will provide a further update as soon as there is more to report.
 
In solidarity,
 
Steve Kitcher, Bargaining Committee Chair
Debra Calder, Bargaining Committee Member
Brenda McIntyre, Bargaining Committee Member
Ryan Stewart, Staff Representative, Negotiations


Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP