The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
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74th BC/Yukon-RC - VANCOUVER BRANCH REPORT

April 2018

Sisters, Brothers and Members,

The 2017 calendar year was a busy year for the Vancouver Branch Executive and we hope that the events we hosted and participated in, supported mobilization and engagement opportunities that our membership were seeking.  Our goal was to continue focussing on 3 key areas: member engagement, union partnerships and community outreach.  Some of the highlights included:

  • A successful Lunch and Learn at Library Square
  • Saturday Morning Movie event in January 2018 in New Westminster
  • Participated in Vancouver Labour Council International Women’s Day Event and May Day
  • Hosted a Steward Appreciation evening in June
  • Supported Family Day union coffee breaks at 9 work sites
  • Helped fund and participated in the Vancouver March for Science
  • Worked with various building sites to support local mobilization activities with a focus on Phoenix
  • Holiday Mingler in December

At our 2017 Branch AGM, we had over 80 members in attendance and held elections for several positions.  We welcomed Ervin Selak, Philip Tam and Simone Gardezy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dan Thibault, Daryl Wong and Sid Ansari for their commitment and participation on this executive over the years. 

While staying true to our existing goals we have tried to plan a calendar of events for 2018 that supports the overall goals established in the PIPSC Strategic Plan.  So far we have planned the following:

  • Various Lunch and Learns to support collective bargaining for all of our groups
  • We will plan another movie event in the fall in New Westminster
  • Support mobilization and engagement events at specific work sites.
  • Be involved in Community events and to work on creating a volunteer list to support these events
  • Be present at events like the March for Science in April.
  • Hold another Steward Appreciation Event in June
  • Support an observer to the National AGM

When we plan these events we are always trying to keep in mind the diversity of our membership and the challenges associated with that. The Vancouver Branch has close to 1400 members located in over 20 communities in the Lower Mainland.  We have members located 50+ worksites, employed by 20 departments/agencies and 3 separate employers and represented by 9 different bargaining groups along with our Retired Members Guild.  We will continue to strive to be as inclusive as possible knowing that our membership is diverse in make-up, location and interests. 

We are always available for questions and available to help anyone navigate to their goal, whether that is a coffee break at a work site or a community based event.

In solidarity, we are better together!

Karen Hall

Past Vancouver Branch President

On behalf of Ted Molyneux

Vancouver Branch President