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We are building financial strength to match the strength of our members: Davies

We are building financial strength to match the strength of our members: Davies

VICTORIA โ€“ Despite historic inflation and global pandemic, CUPE BC remains in a strong financial position, CUPE BC Secretary-Treasurer Trevor Davies told delegates in his report to convention Thursday morning. Davies, who has served as CUPE BCโ€™s Secretary-Treasurer since 2015, presented a balanced budget and reported healthy investment and savings growth.

โ€œOur strength is not found in any bank account, itโ€™s with our members. So, my plan as Secretary-Treasurer is always for our financial strength to match and support the strength of our members,โ€ said Davies. 

Davies reported surpluses in all three of CUPE BCโ€™s funds โ€“ General, Defence and the Colleen Jordan Humanity Fund. In line with the Unionโ€™s plan to diversify income sources for its funds, Davies said an investment account was established for the Colleen Jordan Humanity Fund โ€“ also known as the CJ Fund.

On the Defence Fund, currently standing at just over $10 million, significant growth was reported over the past ten years, when the fund stood at just $2 million. Davies reported that despite this substantial growth, it still falls short of the Unionโ€™s goal of $12 million. Davies says this goal is the amount CUPE BC requires to weather a large-scale strike or lockout, to ensure members have support now and in the future. 

โ€œHow am I going to pay my rent? How am I going to be able to keep groceries? As secretary-treasurers we get these questions all the time when members are facing a strike,โ€ said Davies. โ€œ(Secretary-treasurers) get to the use the words, โ€˜donโ€™t worry we have strike pay.โ€™ Itโ€™s the responsibility of me and the executive board to make sure we can honour these promises. If we donโ€™t, we lose trust we will never get back. Thatโ€™s why itโ€™s so important.โ€

Davies told delegates CUPE BC needs to find ways to limit on-going surpluses in the CJ Fund, that is dedicated to funding international solidarity and domestic anti-poverty initiatives.

โ€œWe always want to maximize how much money goes out,โ€ said Davies, presenting an admitted counter-intuitive idea on finances. โ€œThe organizations that get money from our CJ Fund make a huge difference in peopleโ€™s lives. So, us running surpluses doesnโ€™t help them.โ€

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We are building financial strength to match the strength of our members: Davies News

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