The Hospital Employees' Union (HEU), founded in 1944 at

Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facili ...

, is now the oldest and largest

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for hospital workers and health care specialists in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The HEU represents 46,000 members across the public, non-profit and private health sectors. It is also a member in the

British Columbia Federation of Labour The British Columbia Federation of Labour (BCFED), often shortened to the BC Federation of Labour, is a central organization for organized labour in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1910 and has 500,000 members. History The BCFED ...

and the

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...

(CUPE). In 2004, the HEU was judged to have conducted an illegal strike in BC hospitals. Members were painted as working fewer hours for higher rates than the national average, and were told their vacation benefits were generous (five weeks after 10 years of employment and up to nine weeks after 25 years), there was dispute with the provincial government for privatization of in-house support services in BC health authorities. The Hospital Employees' Union eventually won a related

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

case in 2007. The court's decision established that union bargaining is a constitutional right. The court win led to a negotiated settlement with the provincial government which paid up to $85 million to former HEU members who lost their jobs.

Judy Darcy Judy Darcy (born 1950) is a Canadian health care advocate, trade unionist, and former politician. Darcy was the first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions of British Columbia. She was the fourth National President of the Canadian Union of P ...

, elected as provincial

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

for

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

in 2013, had been HEU's business manager from 2005 to 2011. Darcy was appointed Opposition Health Critic by the

British Columbia New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

. In 2015, the HEU advocated against proposed privatization of laundry services by Interior Health Authority. HEU also applied in 2015 to be an intervenor in a Supreme Court of Canada case involving the

British Columbia Teachers' Federation The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) is the labour union that represents all public school teachers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established as an organization in 1917. Governance structure As of 2018, the BCT ...

References

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External links

HEU websiteHospital Employees' Union
– Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries
HEU's LGBT Standing Committee
1944 establishments in British Columbia Trade unions established in 1944 Healthcare trade unions in Canada Medical and health organizations based in British Columbia Trade unions in British Columbia Canadian Union of Public Employees Organizations based in Burnaby