Bank workers unite

 

Name: Mimi Murray

Occupation: Account Manager, Vancity

Union: BCGEU

In May, employees at Vancity’s Surrey City Centre Community Branch voted to join the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU).

Mimi Murray is one of the employees’ at the Vancity Surrey City Centre branch, and she is looking forward to her new position as steward. “We have been members for only about three months, and I’ve already had my shop steward training with the union six weeks ago. The training has given me the tools I need to solve problems in the workplace,” says Mimi.

When Mimi’s branch first became certified with the BCGEU, it seemed only natural that Mimi would be interested in becoming a steward. “Being a steward is a leadership role, and seeing as I’ve been at my branch for close to nine years, I’ve already been playing a leadership role in my workplace for a long time now,” says Mimi.

The BCGEU has had a long history with the financial services sector. In addition to over 400 BCGEU members employed at Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union, the BCGEU represents hundreds of workers at other financial institutions including Lakeview Credit Union, Interior Savings Credit Union, and Coastal Community Credit Union to name a few.

Mimi is not completely new to the union movement, as her husband is an elected officer of his union.  “I wanted to find out more about what the BCGEU had to offer and how they could make my workplace better,” says Mimi.

Mimi recalls the process of becoming certified to be positive, encouraging, and simple. “The union came to our branch one day right after work and talked about the advantages for Vancity employees of becoming union members. We met right in our branch meeting room and the union organizers talked about the partnership agreement with Vancity and how all Vancity employees were going to have the opportunity to learn more about the collective agreement.”

For Mimi, having a collective agreement means that the employer and employee are on the same page, and knowing that everyone is treated the same.

“It’s good to know that our collective agreement gives consistency across the board for everyone, and parity throughout the workplace,” says Mimi. “The collective agreement is there for us if any problems arise.”