Bulletin
Celebrating 50 years of representing members at ICBC
November 5, 2024
To: Members at ICBC
Today is a very special anniversary for our union at ICBC. It was exactly 50 years ago on November 5, 1974, when we learned we were successful in our effort to become the new bargaining agent for the employees at ICBC.
As many of you know, ICBC opened its doors in 1973 and there was a big push among many unions who wanted to be the ones to represent the workers at this brand-new Crown corporation. Back then, our union was known as the Office and Technical Employees Union (OTEU). We were part of the international Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), but provincial legislation at the time forbid unions from having the word “professional” in their name so we went by OTEU instead.
Our union was well known already for representing workers at BC Hydro at the time of our organizing drive at ICBC, but we were up against two much larger unions – BCGEU and CUPE – who were also actively trying to organize the worker at ICBC. In fact, those two unions combined forces to try and secure the vote.
In the end, however, the employees at ICBC felt that our union was best suited to represent their interests and the rest is history.
Since then, we have had the privilege to being there for our members at ICBC through every step of the way, from bargaining collective agreements, welcoming the employees from the Motor Vehicles Branch, to running major campaigns such as “Don’t Wreck Public Auto Insurance” and “Driving Public” to protecting our members’ work and reminding BC why public car insurance is the best option.
It has been an absolute honour for our union to represent ICBC members for the last 50 years and we look forward to the next 50 years and beyond!
You can learn more about our 50th anniversary representing the workers at ICBC in our Winter 2024 edition of the Local Voice magazine which comes out in December.
In solidarity,
Annette Toth
President