In This Section
Secretary-Treasurer
IAM&AW
Angela Schira
sectreas@bcfed.com
Look at Angela Schira's resume and one word keeps coming up - "first".
Angela was the first woman elected to the full time job of Secretary-Treasurer of the 500,000 member B.C. Federation of Labour -- the year was 1989. In December 2004, she was re-elected by the Federation's Convention to serve her eighth full two-year term.
She was the first woman to be elected to an International office in her union, the International Association of Machinists (IAM), when she won the post of Delegate to the Canadian Labour Congress in 1984, a position she still holds today. Angela became the first woman Vice-President in 1982 and then President of the BC Provincial Council of Machinists' in 1984, and formed and chaired the first Women's Rights Committee in her union.
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 and involvement in the union movement is matched by her commitment to women's issues, social change and justice for all working people.
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:
- a member of the Federal New Democratic Party National Council;
- Canadian Labour Congress' National Political Action Committee Member;
- a Director of the Working Opportunity Fund; and
- serves as a Director of the Canadian Council on Learning.
Over the past decade, Angela has been:
- Co-Chair of the Federal New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
- Chair of the BC New Democratic Party Election Planning Committee;
- a Labour Governor on the BC Workers' Compensation Board;
- a 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; and
- a member of the National Economic Restructuring Committee of the Canadian Labour Market and Productivity Centre (CLMPC).
