The BCFED represents over 500,000 workers in more than 50 affiliated unions. This account is no longer updating; find our other networks at the link below.
In the face of hate, BC's labour movement stands in solidarity with trans people. Our statement on the anti-trans rallies planned for Wednesday, September 20:
#BCLab
#BCPoli
#NoSpaceForHate
BREAKING: BC Labour Minister
@HarryBainsSN
has just introduced Bill 10, which will ensure single-step certification when at least 55% of the employees in a workplace sign union cards.
#bclab
#bcpoli
If you're sick and your employer won't let you stay
🛏 Home For A Rest,
then
📞 Call Me Maybe
(and by "Me" we mean "the Employment Standards Branch")
#bclab
#bcpoli
By this point, you know the songs. You know the arguments. You've decided whether you're voting with your heart or your mind, for teenage you or adult you.
There's just one thing left to do.
Choose the best song from British Columbia.
#BCFED22
delegates unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Community-Industry Response Group to be disbanded, and for on-site Indigenous oversight of RCMP operations on Indigenous lands.
#bclab
This is HUGE! Not only does it strengthen BC health care, but it addresses one of the most bitterly inequitable moves of the old BC Liberal government. And it means a brighter, more secure and better-paid future for 4,000 housekeeping and dietary workers. Congratulations!
#bclab
Today, govt announced they will reverse 20 years of privatization by bringing back in-house hospital cleaners & dietary workers. This will improve wages & working conditions for more than 4000 workers, most of them women & many of them racialized.
#bcpoli
#bchealth
#bcunion
1/6
@TheStanchion
@QuadreIli
I've checked it over. Safety rules give you the clear right to refuse unsafe work, but there's nothing explicitly in there about "major bummers."
We condemn the callous, dehumanizing tactics used by Mayor Ken Sim’s administration in forcibly dismantling encampments in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Here's our statement:
#BCLab
#BCPoli
#VanPoli
🧵
NEWS RELEASE: Labour movement issues boycott, pulls millions of dollars in business from Hilton Metrotown and Pacific Gateway Hotels in support of workers
#bclab
#bcpoli
#justrecovery
We are calling on Vancouver City Council to immediately reverse their appalling decision to abandon the city’s five-year-long status as a
#LivingWage
employer. (1/9)
#BCPoli
#VanPoli
The right-wing noise machine has tried to spin this as a working-class movement. It isn't. A working-class movement doesn't threaten workers for wearing hospital scrubs, reporting the news or just trying to keep a store safe from a deadly virus.
This is a sad day for me.
@ctvedmonton
has made the decision to remove the branding from our vehicles for safety. I am proud of the excellent and vital work we do, perhaps more important now than ever. I’m proud to represent that in public, but it’s just not safe right now
#yeg
Heartening to see so many joining arms across the Lion's Gate Bridge as part of the
#GlobalHumanChain
in solidarity with women & girls standing up to the Iranian regime, with the people of Iran and with the families of Flight 752.
#MahsaAmini
#WomanLifeFreedom
BC Liberal leader
@Wilkinson4BC
characterized domestic violence today as a “tough marriage”. It’s much more. We beg you to get informed as domestic and sexual violence occurs upwards of 60,000 times a year in BC alone and deeply affects whole families.
#supportsurvivors
Progressive leadership is
@theJagmeetSingh
showing up on the picket line in solidarity with striking hotel workers
@UniteHere40
. Workers on the front lines of the fight against precarious work and economic insecurity.
#elx43
#bclab
We stand in solidarity with BCGEU workers as they begin their job action! Our secretary-treasurer Sussanne Skidmore was proud to join Liquor Distribution Branch workers on the line in Kamloops today.
#bclab
#UnionStrong
The Joy Langan Award is presented every convention to a union activist & community leader. This year’s winner is
@vanalias
for their tireless work building a more inclusive, equitable labour movement.
#BClab
is indebted to you for your courage and dedication, Adrienne!
#BCFED22
.
@jjhorgan
, thank you.
You've been a lifelong friend of working people, and you leave a legacy of progressive change and achievement. (🧵)
#BCLab
#BCPoli
@AndyFontana1
@jodyvance
And the workers who keep our roads safe, our power lines working, our water running, our buildings clean, our...
They're doing more for our freedom — to move, to work, to live our lives — than any astroturf media stunt ever will.
Yesterday, our President spoke to the dangerous emboldening of racism here at home. We join in the outrage at the publishing of the fatuous and racist op-ed by the
@VancouverSun
#cdnmedia
.
@Laird4bcfed
begins the opening keynote: "In this moment of fear-based, hateful politics both at home and around the world, we must remember that it is the organizing, advocacy campaigning we do in unions that stands in the way of the rise of the right wing."
#futureofwork
In his first major speech since becoming Premier,
@Dave_Eby
spoke of making sure people have homes where they can raise their families, improving safety by addressing underlying causes, improving access to health care, and taking action on climate.
#BCFED22
#bclab
#bcpoli
This isn't parody. This isn't exaggeration. This is the ugly reality behind harmless-sounding pundit jargon like "cooling down the economy" and "a soft landing."
I wish the Fed and the Bank of Canada would talk straight with us every time they raise interest rates.
'Not enough of you have lost your jobs or homes, or defaulted on your credit cards, yet.'
Congratulations to workers at the Valleyview A&W in Kamloops and
@ibew993
, who may have just made history as the first A&W in Canada to unionize!
#BCFed
We remain in awe of these incredible workers who stood strong and fought hard for months to secure this contract. Congrats to you and your union on this historic deal
#bclab
#bcpoli
BREAKING: Rosewood Hotel Georgia workers have just voted overwhelmingly to approve their new contract! After the longest hotel strike in
#Vancouver
’s history, we thank our supporters who stood by the strikers to help us fight
#onedaylonger
and win!
#yvr
#canada
#bclab
#canlab
Ready for your jaw to drop? Business lobbyists are pressuring the BC government not to bring in ANY paid sick leave *until the pandemic is over.*
No, really.
Business lobby groups want British Columbia to delay any paid sick day legislation "until after the pandemic."
Medical experts say that's a bad idea.
#bcpoli
#bclab
Author and Storyteller
@ivancoyote
gave
#bcfed18
an entertaining yet sobering look at the challenges transpeople face and how we can all do a better job at being more inclusive and supportive to one another.
HUGE NEWS! Janitors at
@TELUS
Gardens tower in Vancouver won their vote to unionize today!! Huge congrats to the members that organized, fought and WON 🙌🔥
#bcpoli
#canlab
The case of a young Skip The Dishes worker, horribly wounded while apparently trying to make a delivery in Vancouver, should be a wake-up call to all of us about the safety of workers in the so-called gig economy.
#bclab
#bcpoli
We're deeply saddened to hear of the death of long-time City of Vancouver worker Gord Dolyniuk in a workplace accident on Friday. Every worker deserves to go home safely at the end of the work day. Our deepest condolences to his family, coworkers and fellow
@CUPE1004
members.
Today marks the first day of
#PaidSickLeave
for BC workers. It's an important achievement and well worth celebrating.
#bcpoli
#bclab
But there are serious gaps.
The
@bcfed
will be advocating for all workers to have access to up to 10 days of employer paid sick leave per year "as a basic public health protection and employment right for all”!
#PaidSickDays
Go to work sick, or struggle to pay the bills? Nobody should have to make that choice. Not in a pandemic, not ever. We can’t afford to wait. Share this to demand paid sick days now for every worker in BC!
#bcpoli
#paidsickdaysnow
If labour organizing is a "threat" to your company — if having to pay good wages and offer decent working conditions is a "threat" to your company — maybe take a really hard look at the kind of company you're running.
Great to see so much energy at the BC Legislature! Labour and community leaders coming together for safer, healthier workplaces — and
#10days
of paid sick leave!
Want to add your voice? Sign our open letter at !
#bclab
#bcpoli
We stand in solidarity with the
@BCFMWU
(Ferry Workers) and urge
@BCFerries
, in the strongest possible terms, to negotiate with the Union in good faith and respect the existing Collective Agreement.
#COVID19
#bcpoli
#bclab
Let's just take a moment to celebrate BC becoming the first province in Canada to offer free prescription birth control.
At a time when reproductive health is under such sustained attack in so many places, this is a bold, welcome step.
#BCLab
#BCPoli
“This is an important achievement for public health and safer workplaces. But we’re disappointed that it’s only half the 10-day standard that science supports and that is the overwhelming preference of British Columbians.” —
@Laird4bcfed
#bclab
#bcpoli
New Zealand just passed 10 days of
#paidsickleave
. We need the same right of employment for every worker in BC.
Sign here to get involved with our campaign:
The global pandemic has laid bare how certain work and workers are undervalued. There is power in a
#union
and in collective action. Today and everyday, solidarity with workers around the world. Happy
#MayDay2021
To all the workers who will be out in the snow, ice and rain over the next few days: Thank you for keeping us moving, keeping us safe and keeping the lights on.
#bclab
Thanks
@jjhorgan
&
@HarryBainsSN
for keeping your word to minimum wage earners. And thanks to everyone who campaigned so effectively to give BC's lowest-paid workers a raise - one they need now more than ever. Let's keep moving forward to build a recovery for all!
#bclab
#bcpoli
Jagmeet Singh, Leader of
@NDP
, spoke at
#bcfed18
about affordable housing, health care system & the need for green jobs & publicly-managed infrastructure.
He also spoke about the
@JustinTrudeau
@liberal_party
back-to-work legislation forcing CUPW members back to work.
BC’s Supreme Court did not sound impressed with the Fraser Institute’s health care expert in today’s ruling upholding public health care.
The judge said the expert had “no academic affiliation, no peer reviewed publications and no training or experience in medical issues.”
Shameful and outrageous. No workers should have to hide who they are and what they do to feel safe on our public streets. And that goes double for the healthcare workers who have been working so hard to keep us safe.
Congratulations to
@Sussanners
, our new BCFED president: “It’s amazing to be here as an out, queer woman elected to lead the BC Federation of Labour for the first time!”
#BCFED22
#bclab
April 28 is the
#NationalDayofMourning
, when we remember the workers who have been killed, injured or made ill by their work.
Find all the details for the commemorative event here:
Please read our statement in support of the City of Vancouver’s drug decriminalization proposal. It's an important first step to halting unprecedented deaths, and a shift in our societal approach to substance use and policing
#bcpoli
#opioids
#vanpoli
We're *SO PROUD* of our secretary-treasurer
@SussanneRS
, co-recipient of the Joe Morris Labour Community Service Award along with her collaborator
@HillNikki
at tonight's
@UWLM
's Labour Appreciation Night!
#bclab
“Burden of identifying systemic racism and oppression shouldn't fall on people of colour, says a Vancouver-based labour relations specialist, who adds white people need to also take responsibility.” Crucial insight from
@NatashaTony
#bclab
#canlab
.
@JimboStanford
, Centre for Future Work director, reminds delegates that insecure and precarious work isn’t new and isn’t driven by technology — it’s driven by greed. “Employers have always been finding ways to make work less secure. But we will win that fight.” [4/4]
#bclab
Aquilini family ordered to pay vulnerable temporary foreign farm workers $130k in back wages after BC Fed complaint w/ partner orgs. No more exploitation - Stronger enforcement of employer compliance needed!
#bcpoli
#bclab
No one should be forced to choose between protecting public health and putting food on the table — not in a pandemic, not ever.
Read the joint statement from Canada’s Federations of Labour demanding paid sick days for every worker.
AT LAST! We’re delighted to see long-overdue anti-scab legislation finally introduced in Ottawa. It’s a direct result of the supply agreement reached between
@NDP
led by
@theJagmeetSingh
and the federal Liberals.
#CanLab
#BCLab
#cdnpoli
🧵
Congrats Laird & Sussanne! Electrician Laird Cronk and BCGEU Exec-VP Sussanne Skidmore acclaimed as President & Secretary-Treasurer of the BCFED. “We are stronger & better as a labour movement when we work together,” Cronk says. “Let’s get this job done,” Let’s build!
#bcfed18
Memo to
@KahlonRav
: We know there's a ton of pressure from business lobbyists over paid sick leave, claiming employers can't afford it. But the evidence suggests they're wrong.
#bcpoli
#bclab
With new variants and cases rising, the time for permanent
#PaidSickDays
is now! Join our campaign and call on the BC government to lead the country and protect workers.
As we're thinking about
#COVID19
safety this holiday, remember the workers affected — and potentially endangered — by the choices we all make. Staying safe is one of the ways we show solidarity.
Congratulations to:
-
@Dave_Eby
and the BC government for ably and successfully defending public health care.
-
@BCHC
and its members for their intervention & advocacy
- You! Because today's decision means you, your family and your community can rely on quality public health care
On
@BCFerries
now between Horseshoe Bay and
#Nanaimo
listening to one guy lipping off to the Chief Steward saying he won’t wear a mask and then another guy saying it’s against his rights not to be able to stay in his vehicle. Kudos to the employee for not losing it!
#thanklessjob
At the Surrey Starbucks, a union certification application automatically led to an approval because of BC's new single-step certification law. It removes the opportunity for a company to pursue anti-union tactics, says
@uswlunny
.
#bclab
#bcpoli
#canlab
After the past 2 years, it's disappointing to see politicians from the right still demeaning public sector jobs. These workers keep highways clear, fight forest fires and floods, get vaccines into arms, and much, much more.
#bcpoli
#bclab
Join us, along with
@WorkSafeBC
@vancouverdlc
@HarryBainsSN
@BizCouncilBC
, for the National Day of Mourning ceremony at 10:30 am tomorrow at . And wherever you are, please observe one minute of silence at 11 am.
Remember the dead. Fight for the living.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by flooding and storm damage, and especially with the thousands of workers who are on the job keeping our lights on and our homes and roads safe.
"Everyone deserves to be who they are and to feel safe, valued, and supported at work, at school, or in their community. That’s why we stand in solidarity with trans workers and communities." Sussanne and Hermender in today's The Georgia Straight.
#BCLab
Congratulation to these incredible workers and to
@UniteHere40
. We are so proud of them and of the strength and solidarity the BC labour movement demonstrated through our public boycott.
#bcpoli
#bclab
The BCFED is horrified to learn of the deadly Islamophobic hate crime against Muslim community members in London, Ontario. Our thoughts are with the Muslim community and the loved ones of the family whose lives were taken.
Sometimes solidarity looks like signing a union card or walking a picket line.
And then sometimes it looks like this: hundreds of bags of food and gifts, assembled by union volunteers for needy families at this year's Labour Christmas Dinner.
#bclab
(Photo:
@bersonphoto
)
"My name is Shannen. I work the front desk at an airport hotel. I was fired for helping a union drive. My employer gets away w/ intimidation and targeting union organizers. New labour laws should prevent employer interference."
Support Shannen at
#bclab
A big congrats and welcome aboard to Victoria's Douglas St. Starbucks workers, the newest members of
@SteelworkersCA
! Help yourselves to a fresh cup of solidarity.
We stand in solidarity with everyone fighting to eradicate racism once and for all. BCFED statement on the UN Int'l Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
#FightRacism
#bclab
#canlab
Until our leaders legislate paid sick leave for all, BC’s workers are at risk. When one person is forced to work sick, we all put our health on the line. Use your voice and help BC lead the country and create a legacy for years to come. 👉
#bcpoli