United Way and the Labour movement team up
Mervyn VanSteinberg, Director, CLC Labour Participation Department, United Way British Columbia, Bob Jackson, Regional Executive Vice President for British Columbia Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and Irene Lanzinger, Secretary Treasurer, B.C. Federation of Labour and 2014 Campaign Cabinet Labour Committee Co-Chair. PSAC was the 2013 Labour Award of Distinction recipient at the 2013 United Way Spirit Awards event in March. PSAC BC was the first union to encourage joint Union-Management United Way Campaigns at Federal Government work sites across the Lower Mainland.
Making our community a better place is a big job. United Way British Columbia couldn’t do it without the support of unions and their members in workplaces throughout Metro Vancouver. Labour and United Way have long been partners in social change supporting the families and communities where they are located. Labour’s contributions help United Way to build a strong social support network, which strengthens our community and changes people’s lives for the better. With Labour’s support, United Way reaches over 300,000 people a year by investing in more than 150 local agencies providing 450 programs and services in 26 communities across the Lower Mainland. “Together, United Way and Labour are improving lives and strengthening communities,” says Steve Hunt, United Way British Columbia Board Chair and Director of District 3, United Steelworkers Union. Advocacy is another area where United Way and Labour work together. Annually, Labour activists attend United Way’s Public Policy Institute and learn how to influence public policy. And, in workplaces across Metro Vancouver, trained Union Counsellors help their co-workers cope with workplace or personal challenges. Thousands of people are helped and referred to United Way-funded agencies. The counsellors are trained through the Labour Community Advocacy’s Union Counsellor Training, a flagship program of the Labour and United Way partnership. With you – unions and union members – United Way is working to make our community stronger.
