ALMOST 600 delegates from across the province are gathered for the start of the 52nd Convention of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU). Over the next three days at the triennial event, delegates will determine the direction of their union by voting on policy resolutions and electing a new and expanded leadership team.
Stephanie Smith, the first woman elected president of the BCGEU, announced in January that she would not run for a fourth term. In addition to selecting a new president for the first time in 10 years, delegates will elect an Equity Executive Vice President (Equity EVP), also for the first time. This new position expands the leadership team as well as reflecting the union’s overall commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of membership.
“Our province has so much economic, cultural and social diversity, and I think we are going to see the election of a new BCGEU leadership team that is even more representative of that great diversity,” said Smith on Wednesday. “It’s an exciting opportunity to continue to build on the actions that demonstrate our union’s values.”
Between the call to order on Wednesday evening and the adjournment on Saturday, delegates will hear from high profile speakers about important issues facing working people, and they will debate and decide on resolutions that cover a wide range of union, social justice and equity issues – determining the priorities and path the BCGEU will take for the next three years.
“Unions represent the best of us – as workers and as activists – because they show that we succeed not by focusing only on our own needs, but by uniting and standing beside our colleagues, allies and neighbours,” said Smith. “Today I believe more strongly than ever in what’s possible when good people work together and I know that our members are ready for all the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”
To view the convention agenda, speakers list and more, visit: https://convention.bcgeu.ca/
What: BCGEU’s 52nd Constitutional Convention
When: Wednesday, May 29 to Saturday, June 1
Where: Westin Bayshore Hotel, 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver
