The Vancouver Police Union (VPU) 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 ...

representing 1,450 front-line police officers, jail guards and special constables of the

Vancouver Police Department The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) (french: Service de police de Vancouver) is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, Canada.

History

The Vancouver Police Union received its charter from the Trades and Labour Council (TLC) under the name Vancouver Police Federal Association, Local 12, on 15 July 1918, making it the second unionized police force in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Unlike many other police unions, the VPU survived the backlash against police rank and file organizations following the

British police strikes in 1918 and 1919 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, the Boston Police Strike, and the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Police unions were outlawed in many jurisdictions and subsequently reduced to "police associations." As a result, the VPU was the first police union certified under the new industrial relations regulatory regime in 1945, and remained one of the few rank and file police organizations that were covered by labour legislation. It therefore enjoyed an advantage in collective bargaining with such things as mandatory arbitration in disputes with management compared with other police organizations.

Role

The VPU is the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

agent for approximately 1300 members of the Vancouver Police Department and negotiates labour contracts. It also represents its members in disciplinary cases and cases relating to the Workers' Compensation Act and Employment Standards Act. Through its president and spokesperson, Tom Stamatakis, the union acts as a political lobby on behalf of its membership, and has taken a strong position on issues such as the

Insite Insite is the first legal supervised drug injection site in North America, located at 139 East Hastings Street, in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The DTES had 4700 chronic drug users in 2000 and h ...

safe injection site in Vancouver, calling it an "unmitigated disaster" for the

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homele ...

and claiming that all it has accomplished is the creation of a "sense of entitlement" for the neighbourhood's drug addicted population. The union also questioned the credibility of former mayor

Sam Sullivan Sam Sullivan (born November 13, 1959) is a Canadian politician who had served as the MLA for Vancouver-False Creek. Previously, he served as the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development with responsibility for Translink in the ...

in his capacity as the then chair of the police board. Critics of the Vancouver Police have been publicly denounced by the union, particularly lawyers Phil Rankin, Cameron Ward, and John Richardson of the

Pivot Legal Society Pivot Legal Society is a legal advocacy organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia's Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the ...

. Union president Tom Stamatakis is also the vice-president of the

Canadian Police Association The Canadian Police Association (CPA) is an advocacy and fundraising organization that is also a registered lobbyist with the Canadian government. The CPA represents Canadian police officers. It is divided into 27 regional chapters at municipal, ...

. The Vancouver Police Union’s office address is 1819 Victoria Diversion, Vancouver, BC.

References

External links

Vancouver Police Union website
{{Authority control Trade unions in British Columbia Organizations based in Vancouver Trade unions established in 1918 Police unions

History

Role

See also

References

External links