Who is the GVRD Employees' Union?
The GVRD Employees Union was certified in 1946, but existed under other banners before that, and serves the employees of Metro Vancouver. (formerly the Greater Vancouver Regional District) As more and more office staff were hired, a second union, the VMREU (Vancouver Municipal and Regional Employees' Union) was formed, which later grew to a large union and dissolved into Teamsters 31 and CUPE 15.
Our Union continued to serve the outside workers of Metro Vancouver. Today, we represent around 500 Members, with seasonal peaks near 575, as Operations hires summer temporary workers. We have Members who work in water distribution and disinfection, watershed management, watershed security, social housing across the region, regional parks, wastewater collection and treatment, and construction.
What do we do for our Members?
The GVRD Employees' Union has several programs and services available to its Members. First and foremost, we represent, when requested, the Members in any dealings they may have with Metro Vancouver Management, as under law, the Union is the sole bargaining agent for all of its Members. Also, we produce regular Membership information bulletins, a custom made calendar featuring our Members, a scholarship award for students, and we sponsor (by motion) the GVRD Handcar teams, a spring and fall social event (traditionally a boat cruise and a fishing derby) and every year we invite Santa to a party for our children. Less directly, we actively educate our Shop Stewards by enrolling them in courses in the Labour Movement through Capilano College Labour Studies program, in order to increase their ability to provide reliable information to the Membership at large. We negotiate our own Collective Agreements. The President of the Union (elected from the Membership) has taken many courses in labour negotiations, and as well has had several years of experience at the bargaining table, in Labour Relations Board hearings, labour arbitrations and in mediation. The Bargaining Committee is also elected from the Membership, and also includes the rest of the Executive, most of who have also sat for many years at the bargaining table, and all of whom have led this Union through various forms of labour dispute, in addition to successful collective agreement bargaining. We see clear advantages to in house bargaining, not the least of which is economics; additionally, as the bargaining committee all come from the Membership, they will have to live and work under the terms and conditions of the new collective agreement they endorsed, along side of the Members to whom they made the endorsement.