The British Columbia General Employees' Union (BCGEU) is a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada which represents over 85,000 members. The union employs over 200 servicing and administrative staff in 12 area offices across the province and at the
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
head office. The current President of the BCGEU is Stephanie Smith. Smith was elected to this position in 2014. Previous Presidents were
Darryl Walker
Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell.
Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel.
Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...
,
George Heyman
George Heyman is a former social, environmental and labour activist and now a politician in British Columbia. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election,BCGEU v. British Columbia on picketing rights under the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
and the Meiorin case on the test for discrimination.
The union is divided into a component structure based on occupational groupings. Each component has geographically based locals. This is the union's component structure:
* COMPONENT 1 - Corrections and Sheriff Services
* COMPONENT 3 - Community Social Services
* COMPONENT 4 - Health Services
* COMPONENT 5 - Retail, Stores and Warehouse
* COMPONENT 6 - Social, Information and Health
* COMPONENT 7 - Education, Scientific, Technical and Administrative
* COMPONENT 8 - Community Health Services
* COMPONENT 10 - Operational Services
* COMPONENT 12 - Administrative Services
* COMPONENT 17 - General Services
* COMPONENT 20 - Environmental, Technical and Operational
Most members of BCGEU Components 1, 5, 6, 12 and 20 are covered by B.C.'s Public Service Pension Plan. This pension plan currently has equity of over $23 billion. Most members of the other components are covered by the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP), the College Pension Plan (CPP) or the union's own targeted benefit pension plan.
As the nature of public sector employment has changed in recent decades in British Columbia, the number of BCGEU members who work directly for the government has declined while the number of BCGEU members doing work that has been devolved from the provincial government or contracted to the private sector has increased. The BCGEU is now the leading union organizing casino workers in the province, negotiating strong collective agreements.
Political involvement
Although the union's constitution commits the union to not affiliating with any political party, the BCGEU has been a significant and long-term supporter of the
BC New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social-democratic provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada.
As of 2017, it governs the province. It is the British Columbia provincial arm of the federal New Democrati ...
, contributing $157,770.64 in the year following the 2009 provincial election.
Staff
BCGEU staff are themselves unionized, being represented by the Union Workers' Union (UWU) and MoveUP, the Movement of Union Professionals. Bargaining between the BCGEU and its servicing staff (then members of - CEP) employees broke down in 2005, resulting in a multi-week strike.