Today we honour and remember the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people. The Red Dress Project was started by Jaime Black-Morsette, a Red River Métis artist and activist. Each red dress is a powerful symbol – a silent witness to the violence experienced and the lives stolen, too often without justice or closure.

We acknowledge the deep pain and resilience carried by families and stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.

We must listen, learn, and commit to ending the violence and ensuring that every Indigenous person is safe, valued, and never forgotten.

We raise our voices with love and respect.

CUPE Local 1004 stands in solidarity with the Filipino community during this difficult time. We are saddened by the tragic events and recognize the pain and heartbreak it has caused. Our thoughts are with everyone affected and we remain committed to supporting our Filipino members, their families, and the broader community as they navigate this tragedy.

Following the events at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival the local contacted the City to inquire about the affect of the event on our membership.  We were informed that none of our members were present at the time of the event.  We also advocated that the City ensure that they are providing all possible support and assistance to anyone who has been affected by this tragedy. We will also be sending a message of support to the Filipino community.

This senseless tragedy has forever changed and ended lives. We send our condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts are with all those injured and affected. We also want to acknowledge that many workers courageously stepped up to help, and we thank them for their service in our community.

The city has put together a list of community resources that can be found here. To any of our members directly affected that need help navigating the upcoming days please reach out to the local office.

CUPE 1004 Scholarships are now open and we are accepting applications.  If you would like more information or you are interested in applying for one of our scholarships, please click here.

VANCOUVER – CUPE 1004 and the entire CUPE family are mourning the death of Gord Dolyniuk, a 32 year member of the Local and employee with the City of Vancouver Engineering Streets Branch, who died while on the job.

CUPE 1004 and the entire CUPE family express our deepest condolences to Gord’s family, friends, and co-workers—particularly the members who were involved in the incident and with him when this tragedy unfolded.

It is devastating when a workplace accident results in any of our brothers, sisters, or comrades not coming home safely after their shift, and for most of us it is beyond contemplation that a family member would not return home at the end of the day. For a member of our union family, that unthinkable circumstance became reality this past week when a workplace accident claimed the life of Gord Dolyniuk from Streets Branch at the City of Vancouver.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon (Jan. 7) while our members were working in the National Yard. Upon hearing of the accident, your union representatives went straight to National Yard. They spent time discussing with our members and management to get an understanding of what had happened and offering support from the Local. Subsequently, they have been meeting with members and supporting them as they deal with this devastating loss, offering the full support of our union.

Several investigations will investigate the circumstances surrounding this accident in the coming weeks, including the Coroner’s Office, WorkSafeBC, the City of Vancouver and Local 1004.  We are offering our support to these investigations and are encouraging that those with knowledge of the details keep those confidential to the investigatory process until a final outcome is reached and report is published.  The City of Vancouver, as an interim measure and pending any further recommendations arising from the investigations, has already instituted new workplace rules to address preliminary observations from the accident.

In the coming days we will work with the City of Vancouver and the various support agencies and services to ensure that Gord’s co-workers and loved ones receive the care they need in the wake of this tragedy.  It is important that we are all here for each other as we mourn our fallen co-worker, so please reach out to me if you have any questions, need support, or have concerns.

In Solidarity
Dennis Donnelly
Acting President

Municipal workers on Bowen Island, members of CUPE 1004, achieved a historic first contract following a unanimous ratification vote that concluded on November 1.

“This first contract sets a good framework for our members to build on in upcoming rounds of bargaining,” said CUPE 1004 President Andrew Ledger. “I’d like to thank the bargaining committee and the members of this unit for all their hard work.”

The three-year collective agreement covers the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022. The contract includes benefit and wage improvements as well as language improvements including seniority provisions, dirty pay and improvements for weekend, overtime, standby and call out work.

Bargaining team member Corrina Headley said that although bargaining took a long time — with many days of bargaining over the course of the last year — the end result is a huge improvement.

“It’s really expensive here and most of our crew have families and want to be able to afford a home here. I can’t even imagine how they were getting by before this,” said Headley.

This group of CUPE 1004 members provides public services and maintains critical infrastructure, keeping residents safe and making Bowen Island a great place to live, work and play.

WorkSafe BC has released their report on their investigation into the fatal workplace accident of City of Vancouver 1004 member Mo Cerra.

• Click here to view letter rom Andrew Ledger to Local 1004 members regarding this report.
• Click here to view WorkSafe Inspection Report