British Columbia Federation of Labour

Jim Sinclair

President
CAW/UFAWU
exec@bcfed.ca

Jim Sinclair is president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, the umbrella organization that represents 54 unions and 450,000 private and public sector employees in the province.

He was elected to that position in 1999 after serving more than 18 years in the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union - CAW. During his career in the fishing industry Jim served as associate editor of the Fisherman's Newspaper, Health and Safety Director, staff representative and spent the last eight years as an elected leader of the union.

During his term at the Federation of Labour, the federation has grown by more than 75,000 members as unions representing teachers, nurses and worker's compensation board employees joined the central labour body.

Jim began his working career as a journalist, working in both radio and print media. He was editor and contributor to Crossing the Line, a book on the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also served on the board of the Vancouver Richmond Health Authority for four years and on the board of B.C. Hydro for four years.

  Angela Schira

Secretary-Treasurer
International Association of Machinists
sectreas@bcfed.ca

Look at Angela Schira's resume and one word keeps coming up - "first".

Angela is the first woman elected in 1989 to the full-time job of Secretary-Treasurer of the over 500,000 member British Columbia Federation of Labour.  In November 2008, she was re-elected by the Federation's Convention to serve a tenth full two-year term.

She was the first woman to be elected to an International office in her union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM&AW), when she won the post of Delegate to the Canadian Labour Congress in 1981, a position she still holds today.  Angela became the first woman President of the BC Provincial Council of Machinists' in 1984, and formed and Chaired the first Women’s Rights Committee in her union in 1981.

She earned her union credentials in the airline industry, taking her first job with Pacific Western Airlines, becoming a Shop Steward in 1976, a member of her Local's Executive the next year, and Vice-President of the Machinists' Council in 1982.  During this time, Angela helped bring the union through one of its toughest sets of negotiations and a 4 1/2 month strike.  She assisted in negotiations of the first contract with Canadian Airlines International - the company formed when Pacific Western and Canadian Pacific merged.

Sister Schira comes from a strong working class background - in fact she is literally a coal miner's daughter.  Her family roots in coal mining go back more than 180 years.  Her interest, dedication and involvement in the union movement is matched only by her commitment to women's issues, social change and justice for all working people.

In 2007, the Lieutenant Governor presented Angela with the coveted Rosemary Brown Award that is awarded to women who have acted as role model for others by empowering, promoting and mentoring women in politics, labour and community.

Angela has served on a wide variety of Boards and Committees that demonstrate the range of her abilities.  In addition to her Federation and Machinist roles, Angela is currently:

• Chair of the B.C. Federation of Labour Women’s Committee;
• BC New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
• Executive of the Federal New Democratic Party;
• BC Federal New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
• Canadian Labour Congress' National Political Action Committee Member;
• Board of Director of the Working Opportunity Fund;
• Secretary Treasurer of Camp Jubilee;
• Honorary Board Member of the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre;
• Board of Director for the Canadian Council on Learning.

Over the past decade, Angela has been:

• Past Vice-President of the BC New Democratic Party;
• Past Co-Chair Federal New Democratic Party Implementation Committee;
• Past Chair of the Federation's Political Action Committee
• Co-Chair of the Federal New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
• Chair of the BC New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
• Labour Governor on the BC Workers' Compensation Board;
• Director of BC Hydro Corporation;
• Chairperson of the United Way’s Labour Committee and a member of the United Way "CAMPAIGN CABINET";
• Workshop leader at the 1992 BC Premier's Summit on Trade and Economic Opportunity and the 1994 BC Premier’s Summit on Training;
• Member of the National Economic Restructuring Committee of the Canadian Labour Market and Productivity Centre (CLMPC).

When, and if, Angela has any free time, she loves to golf and boat with her husband Kim, and is an avid water skier.

Executive Officers Listing

Executive Council Listing