Presidents Welcome
2007 will be 105th year of our Union representing Canadian workers. Not many companies, countries, or Unions survive and prosper for 105 years and more. When our Union began its history in 1902, the Autoworkers Union did not exist in either Canada or the United States and neither did the Teamsters or the Steelworkers. Canada itself was only 35 years old.
Our Union has prospered because throughout its history its leadership has been both tough minded and imaginative and our members have worked together to win the benefits that unionism makes available to working men and women.
In February of 2005, the Executive Board and membership of BGPWU demonstrated that skilled leadership and solidarity when, after an exhaustive process, our Union entered into a ground breaking merger with North America’s largest union – SEIU.
We arrived at this decision after thorough discussions with seven of the strongest and most creative unions in Canada. We chose Service Employees International Union because it offered our Union an unparalleled opportunity to grow while maintaining our present structure, independence, democracy, culture and name.
The motto of the SEIU is “Stronger Together”. We believe that being stronger together is what trade unionism is all about and believe that this merger agreement will do just that – make us stronger.
As part of our merger agreement, our Union continues as SEIU Local 2 BGPWU. The SEIU had also agreed to transfer approximately 2,700 members from Local 1.on to Local 2 BGPWU - thereby doubling our membership, resources, and strength overnight.
In the last 20 years, while most North American trade unions have been shrinking in size, the SEIU has doubled its membership to 1,800,000, making it the largest and fastest growing Union in North America. Only through sheer size and strength can Unions effectively defend its members against an increasingly hostile, globalized economy and multinational employers.
On the heels of our Union’s merger with SEIU, in February of 2006, SEIU Local 528 (Racetrack and Gaming Workers Union) voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU Local 2 BGPWU. This historic merger brought an additional 1000+ members into Local 2 BGPWU and in so doing, significantly increased SEIU members’ bargaining strength and power in the racetrack and gaming industry. Indeed, within a few months after merging with Local 2 BGPWU, our new Branch Local 528 successfully unionized over 100 new members at its first-ever Racetrack Slots bargaining unit (Kawartha Downs) as well as a new Mutuels bargaining unit at the previously unorganized Woodstock Racetrack.
But our growth during didn’t stop there. In October 2006, SEIU Local 244 also voted overwhelmingly to merge with our Union, adding more than 700 British Columbia members to SEIU Local 2 BGPWU. As our newest and second largest Branch Local, we extend a warm welcome to our west coast members and staff. What an exciting year!
As we move forward in 2007, we are expanding our communications program to now include quarterly newsletters and regular informational mailings. Our new website will be continually updated to keep you informed about the latest news in Local 2 BGPWU and elsewhere in SEIU.
Welcome....