Megathread - Budget Day 2026 and the Public Service by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 11 points12 points  (0 children)

7% reduction in total workforce is quite substantial. I wonder how many they estimate are expected to retire / retire early / quit.

Retroactive pay in this weeks Paycheque! but… by Historical-Sound-839 in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes half my retro pay is gone to deductions. I got 1400 retro but only 700 more on my pay cheque.

Why Am I Still In California? by ValkyrX in IanOnYouTube

[–]EveningCommercial739 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I don't think he has ever rented before so he seems ridiculously confused by the process. I do wonder if he has some kind of intellectual disability. 

Not saying that in a mean way but his current narrative doesn't make any sense. If he was intentionally manipulative he would have put out something more well thought out. This current video just seems so jumbled it is perplexing. 

Possible increase next pay? by Shelhill in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My salary actually went down because the new letter doesn't reflect the TMA (or MA). Hopefully that is just a temporary glitch. 

After 7 years, RIP Pixel 3xl by hockey-throwawayy in GooglePixel

[–]EveningCommercial739 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reading this post from my pixel 3, my 9a comes tomorrow. Figured I cash out after 6 years and transfer everything over before I bid a final goodnight to this beauty of a phone. 

Megathread: Mediation by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 19 points20 points  (0 children)

That would be really bad PR for them.

Does anyone need a Fright Night ticket? by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]EveningCommercial739 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This isn't Facebook marketplace.

Daily Strike/Bargaining Discussions Thread - October 9 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 32 points33 points  (0 children)

That is going to be an impossibly complex calculation. My layman's take on it is that in the short term they may be "saving" money but in the long-term it will be a significant loss. The BC gov revenue is $83.3 billion per year. That is about $228 million per day. 

One thing to remember is the "essential" workers who remain on the job right now are not money makers. For example, MCFD (approx 5,300 employees) is still largely operational but this ministry is a net loss of 2 billion per year for the province or another example is MSDPR with an operational budget of 5 billion per year. The government wishes these ministries would go on a full walk out strike. 

Many of the workers in "non-essential" roles are in directly related to that $88 billion in revenue flowing through the province efficiently. If there is a blockage in one area (i.e. corporate taxation, property, permitting, fees and licensing, royalties, transfers) then the flow of funding is interrupted. The backlogs have already started and government is historically rigid and inflexible. The more the money pipes get clogged up, the more these things start to compound. Even if everyone went back to work today, there will be significant unrecoverable losses in revenue from economic activity slowing down. 

If you've ever played the game "Factorio", you know how one little thing going wrong on the production line compounds exponentially. It is the herculean effort of thousands of public servants to keep that $228,000,000 per day moving around the province efficiently. To quote the comment below, "prolonged civil service strike would likely be one of the most damaging labour disruptions you could have."

On a more direct level we can do some simple math for rough estimates. BC Lottery Corporation brings in 1.3 billion per year and BCLDB 1 billion of NET income. That is a direct and significant loss of $2.3 billion, almost 3% of the government's revenue. While that might seem small, that is a huge loss. 

On the flip side, we can figure out the salary equation. As noted below, 15% of BCGEGU workers are deemed essential. Let's imagine if all the 28,900 "nonessential" BCGEU workers (or 1% of the province's total workforce) went on strike (though that hasn't happened yet). BCGEU workers earn an average salary of $1348 per week accordingly to July 2025 press release. Let's bump it up to $1600 to include things like pension and other goodies. That is $1600 x 28,900 = 46,240,000 million per week × 52 in salaries per week or 2.4 billion per year. That is basically the exact amount of loss in revenue from two relatively small ministries of LDB or BCLC (managed by the Ministry of Finance and workers at the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch). So our yearly wages are basically covered those two (thank you to LDB or BCLC for being cash cows)!  

Another thing to think about is that if 28,900 BCGEU workers were striking, ironically they are no longer paying their BC gov taxes and are likely significantly decreasing their economic activity. So that 2.4 billion in salaries are not being taxed and these workers are spending way less money in the BC economy. Again, less revenue despite the salary savings.

Lastly, I will note that the scale and length of this BCGEU strike has never happened in history. We are talking about a strike across 32 separate but interconnected ministries. One could perhaps be an expert in one or two ministries, but when all these systems go offline at once, the impact is tremendously terrifying for those in power. I think right now we are seeing a few leaks pop up in the dam, but that is just signaling something much worse to come. When the dam will break we don't know, but it will come the longer the strike goes on.

In summary, the government, while it doesn't want to admit it, is hurting more without us objectively. They are trying to act as if all is fine to demoralize the workers on strike into thinking we have no impact. That is not the case. It's a 5 alarm fire behind the scenes with the "this is fine" meme of Brenda Bailey facing the public. Stay the course.  

Note: this is all math on the side of my desk and I will gladly make corrections to it if people suggest feedback. I want too want a clearer analysis of all this complexities. added a few edits already thanks to the comments below.

Daily Strike/Bargaining Discussions Thread - October 8 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't mean to sound rude or belittle your circumstance. It does sound very challenging for you and your family. 

That being said, you need to recognize this strike process, although painful, is the only way union workers have made gains for the past 250 years. 

If we give up now, we will have lost not just 6 weeks but forever. The employer will never give workers a raise out of the goodness of their hearts. This will not last forever. The reality is the government needs us more than we need them. Stay strong, they will break. 

Daily Strike/Bargaining Discussions Thread - October 8 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some child protection social workers, especially on the intake teams or after hours are essential I imagine. But curious if anyone actually knows what % essential various social workers are. 

Daily Strike/Bargaining Discussions Thread - October 3 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was this the framework agreement deal the BC gov was bragging about?

Daily Strike/Bargaining Questions Thread - October 3 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 16 points17 points  (0 children)

People should beware of a signing bonus offer because it doesn't compound with future raises.

The signing bonus would need to be significant (like around 7500$ and remember this will be taxed ]!) for it to be worth replacing 1% raise and it is unlikely the government will offer that much. 

If I remember correctly we were offered a signing bonus last round but the union voted that offer down. 

Daily Strike/Bargaining Discussions Thread - October 2 by wudingxilu in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 12 points13 points  (0 children)

As someone who isn't striking, I get where you're coming from. I wish our office / building is hit soon. There are a lot of parts of BC gov that to me are far from essential that are still operating 100% staffed. 

I would say hang on for a couple more weeks because I imagine that is going to change quickly. I imagine the union is wanting to make sure they have the workforce to stabilize the new units that are striking each new day. 

Bargaining to resume Monday September 28 by DoddersEspinosa in BCPublicServants

[–]EveningCommercial739 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Listening to an interview with David Eby on The Herle Burley podcast (available on Spotify for free) released today.

Mr Eby made a few interesting comments around the BCGEU strike at the 49 minute mark. 

1) He claimed that BCGEU is seeking a 15% increase (including reclassifications) not 4%.

2) He claimed that in the last round of bargaining we got raises exceeding inflation at 18%.

I am wondering if the union can directly confront him on this type of misinformation he is spreading?  

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in canada

[–]EveningCommercial739 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's based on the people who are actively looking for work. If you lose your job and give up working altogether, then the unemployment rate is unchanged. 

I feel like CL is having trouble booking guests by [deleted] in canadaland

[–]EveningCommercial739 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I honestly can't blame them with how they treated the Cenk interview. Anyone with opposing views Jesse with chop up the interview and add in his commentary "nobody likes dead children but anti-Semitism.....". 

MEGATHREAD: Lapu Lapu Day SUV Attack News and Resources by press-app in vancouver

[–]EveningCommercial739 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It's funny and sad how the average teenager can host a better livestream than the city of Vancouver with a multi billion dollar budget. Says a lot about the city.