"The DGC is a guild, not a union."

How many times have we heard this sentence, or spoken it ourselves?
Fun fact: not true!

Under the BC Labour Relations Code and the BC Labour Relations Board, the DGC is a union like any other.

The definition of a trade union is: "...a local or Provincial organization or association of employees, or a local or Provincial branch of a national or international organization or association of employees in British Columbia, that has as one of its purposes the regulation in British Columbia of relations between employers and employees through collective bargaining..."

The employers voluntarily recognize the DGC as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees our contract covers, which makes us a union. The word "union" appears in our main contract (not counting Appendices, Side Letters, and Bulletins) 164 times. One hundred and sixty four - including Article 2: Recognition of Union and Scope of This Agreement.

We're not a dispatch hall, that is true.
But we are a union!

Any questions? Any Collective Agreement myths you'd like to see addressed in future notes from me?
Email me! ahinde@dgcbc.com