Workers Rights and Worker Control
Towards a City of Solidarity
Policy Goal
We want Vancouver to be a worker-friendly Union Town with democratized workplaces, a living wage city for all workers (not just city-employed workers) - where a broad variety of economic activities provide sufficient income to acquire the necessities of life; and where workers have input in how their workplaces are organized and run. We demand more democracy in workplaces throughout the city where workers have more say in how the work is done, and opportunities for self-governance within all workspaces are encouraged and provided. We want policies that support the creation of sustainable jobs and support workers’ rights, with an emphasis on workers as the class who create products and services, not owners. We want a city with enhanced support and services for workplace organizers, freelancers, collectives, coops, and other worker-controlled enterprises; and where residents can experience a work-life balance that is compatible with family and community-building, good health, and the enjoyment of leisure activities.
Pathways to Change
Protect the right to strike by standing in solidarity with workers who face strike-breaking efforts from employers, Provincial, or Federal governments, while prohibiting intimidation or arrest by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) except where required to ensure public safety;
Support and encourage the development of worker-owned and controlled enterprises, including co-operatives, collectives, and other worker-led innovations;
Implement a four-day work week, with no reduction to full-time wages;
Fund education and outreach programs for low-wage workers to understand their rights under Worksafe BC, Employment Standards, and their right to unionize;
Provide public spaces (e.g. community centers, libraries, halls) free of charge to workers who need a space to organize, and ensure workers’ centres are accessible to all workers whether unionized or not;
Provide childcare for workers as part of workers’ centres, and investigate how city bylaws affect childcare spaces to overcome barriers and open more childcare facilities;
Provide more child/youth-friendly spaces at city hall;
Ensure resources on workers' rights are in as many languages as possible including American Sign Language (ASL) & braille with easy access both physically and digitally;
Ensure the city fully complies with the duty to accommodate as outlined in the BC Human Rights Act. This is particularly important considering the number of workers newly disabled by the virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19);
Work with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and other unions representing city workers to explore offering expanded flexibility for workers, including flex-time, parental leave, shorter work weeks, and work-from-home options, and support other key bargaining demands; insist private contractors employed by the city match these conditions or have their contracts repatriated and reopened for bidding;
Provide incentives such as reduced licensing fees and expedited permitting for new or converted worker-owned and worker-controlled enterprises;
Increase access to workplaces via frequent public transit and active transportation infrastructure, and enhanced routes for pedestrians, cyclists, and users of electric non-automobile conveyances;
Provide material improvements for service and hospitality workers, including eliminating day wages, providing mental health supports and services, and creating late night shuttle services (especially where transit is lacking);
Reduce fees and barriers to community events, farmers’ markets, flea markets, festivals, exhibitions, and events in all business districts in Vancouver, and promote the use of simple interventions to enhance inclusivity for vulnerable people and children, such as distancing and the use of N95 masks when in close proximity to others.
Ensure that all workers employed by the city or firms contracted by them are unionized and paid at least a living wage; items purchased by the city are sourced from unionized firms paying their workers a living wage;
Create a sick day fund to support precariously employed workers, and advocate for increased access to paid sick time for workers;
Recognize that sex workers are entitled to all protections possible under the law, including existing labour protections, and support peer-led decriminalization of sex work;
Respect the gender identity and non-legal names of people who work for the city.
Resources
Note: The resources on each of our policy pages are a starting point for learning about various issues and organizations doing work in these areas. This is not a comprehensive list and VOTE Socialist is not affiliated with the organizations listed here. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and consider community engagement with the pathways to change suggested. We organize and lead with courage not fear, with transformative vision not limits. Vote on October 15!
Helping to build a local cooperative movement:
About Us - BC Coop Association
Let’s start with a four (4) day work week: How the idea of a four-day week went mainstream
Learn more about workplace democracy and worker-controlled enterprises:
Mission & Vision - Democracy at Work (d@w)
Find workers’ resources at WorkSafe BC:
Know your workplace rights: Workplace Rights - WorkBC