From Anita.Miotto at bcgeu.ca Fri Oct 17 11:15:07 2003 From: Anita.Miotto at bcgeu.ca (Miotto, Anita) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:15:07 -0700 Subject: [LabComm] Lottery workers win with union certification Message-ID: <517DADDBB3EDAF44A2620DCB53689BD6018CD58C@exchange.bcgeu.bc.ca> Friday, October 17, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lottery workers win with union certification VANCOUVER - Many British Columbians gamble on lottery tickets in a bid to increase their income. You only have to wait a week to see if you're a winner. Workers at the B.C. Lottery Corporation's product distribution warehouse in Richmond package and distribute these tickets across the province. But these workers were forced to wait nearly three years to see if they'd won the right to join a union and negotiate better wages. After lengthy delays caused by legal challenges from the B.C. Lottery Corporation, the B.C. Labour Relations Board has confirmed that a majority of the approximately 20 workers at the Richmond warehouse have voted in favour of representation by the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union. "This has been a David versus Goliath story. This small group of workers hung on for three long years while one of the wealthiest employers in this province tried every way possible to obstruct their organizing," said George Heyman, BCGEU president. He noted that the B.C. Lottery Corporation posted $670-million in profits this past year alone. "Instead of wasting tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money on endless litigation - this public corporation could have saved money by doing the right thing and recognizing the rights of these workers immediately," Heyman said. "Winning the right to bargain job security, wages, and benefits through a collective agreement is a real victory for these workers," Heyman said. "They knew they had workplace rights that needed to be respected, and they knew they needed the support of a strong union to ensure that happened. We welcome them to the BCGEU. "We look forward to the employer respecting the workers' decision under the Labour Code, meeting with us and negotiating a collective agreement without further delay." -30- Media, please contact Teresa Marshall, BCGEU communications (604) 291-9611 opeiu 378 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: