For his fourth time since becoming Premier, David Eby joined CUPE BC delegates for their annual convention. His address opened with a somber tribute to CUPE members that responded to the tragedies in Tumbler Ridge and at the Lapu-Lapu festival.
“Every one of those CUPE members exposed themselves to trauma, life changing events and they did it to save people’s lives,” said Eby. “I want to thank those members for their heroism.”
The Premier acknowledged that the past year has also seen a tough round of provincial public sector bargaining, but it has reinforced the importance of CUPE members to the province.
“There is no B.C. without the public services delivered by hard working CUPE members,” said Eby.
Turning around B.C.’s minimum wage from the lowest to the highest in Canada, rebuilding public services devastated by past provincial governments, making it easier for B.C. workers to join a union with card-check certifications, and the expansion of public child care in B.C. public schools, were some of the achievements Eby highlighted as proof of CUPE’s influence in B.C.
“It is the advocacy of the people in this room here that resulted in us moving on the before- and after-school child care initiative,” said Eby. “Keep telling your stories in communities about how your work makes a difference. I know CUPE does that every day.”
The Premier pledged to keep working with CUPE BC and for his government to stay focused on strengthening public services, unlike the focus of division and austerity of the opposition.
“(The B.C. Conservatives) goal is to divide people for political advantage at a time when we all have to be pulling together in a way that we never have before,” said Eby, pointing to BC Conservatives pushing for cuts to education and health care to address economic challenges.
“We cannot go back to those days where we were before. We have too much to do. We have to grow a stronger more independent British Columbia. We have to protect public services, and we are going to keep building a stronger British Columbia together,” he said.