Vancity workers are joining BCGEU to get:

• Fair working conditions

• A guarantee to reach the top of the pay band

• A voice at work

• Job security

• Clear overtime guidelines

Here's how to join BCGEU:

STEP 1: Call us! 604-880-4053. (Email also works: [email protected]). You'll meet confidentially with a BCGEU organizer to talk about what's going on at your workplace and what you'd like to change.

STEP 2: You and your coworkers will work with a BCGEU organizer to build a list of who you work with, what they want to change at work, and how to get a hold of them. You know your workplace best.

STEP 3: You and your coworkers will work with a BCGEU organizer to assess whether the overwhelming majority of the staff at your worksite are ready to join together and form a union to improve your working conditions. When we think that most of your coworkers are ready, you will start asking your coworkers to sign confidential BCGEU membership cards.

STEP 4: Once 70% or more of your coworkers have signed BCGEU membership cards, we will apply to certify your worksite with the Labour Relations Board (LRB), an arms-length branch of the provincial government. Only the union and the Labour Board staff will see the signed union membership cards. Your managers will never find out who's signed a card, or how many people have signed a card, unless you tell them yourselves.

STEP 5: The Labour Board will hold a certification hearing in the coming days and will typically schedule a secret-ballot vote at your worksite ten days later. If the majority of staff at your worksite have voted yes to forming a union, you're in! Congratulations.

STEP 6: What happens after you've formed a union in the worksite? You will meet your BCGEU servicing representative and you will hold an election to decide which of your coworkers will act as shop steward representatives at your worksite. But the most important thing is that you and your coworkers continue to stick together and work collectively to make the changes you want at your worksite.