Nearly 30 members from the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department have unionized under the CUPE Local 606 banner. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

bargaining agreement

Gabriola volunteer firefighters unionize under CUPE banner

Mar 19, 2025 | 3:38 PM

NANAIMO — Members of the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department have agreed to join Canada’s biggest union.

The BC Labour Board approved certification for 29 members of the department on Friday, March 14, with the department’s paid on-call members joining CUPE Local 606 based in Nanaimo.

CUPE, Canadian Union of Public Employees, represents over 750,000 members nationwide, including provincial ambulance paramedics and 911 call takers.

“We are very excited to welcome GVFD workers into our local, and into the broader family of emergency response workers in our National Union,” Jeff Virtanen, Local 606 president, said in a statement.

Local 606 also represents staff at Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District and the Nanaimo Association for Community Living.

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The Gabriola department becomes just the second one of its kind in B.C. to join CUPE, following in the footsteps of North Cowichan who ratified an agreement in 2023.

Negotiations over a collective agreement will occur in the coming weeks and months, with the Union wanting better definitions on responsibilities, compensation and working conditions.

“Communities rely on first responders to deal with all measures of emergencies, and these workers deserve fair compensation, decent working conditions, proper protections and support when they are injured,” Virtanen said. “These workers enter into situations others are running from, and we need to ensure the community has their backs, like they have ours.”

Excluded from union representation include the department’s senior level staff, including the Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief.

Gabriola Island firefighters, seen here working a mock car crash scene from a 2023 exercise, will negotiate a collective agreement in the coming months. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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