Local 5 of the Public and Private Workers of Canada is a democratic, multi-shop union based in New Westminster, British Columbia. We have over 600 members in 24 different shops in and around Vancouver and throughout the province.

Our members work in widely diverse industries including plastics manufacturing, clerical workers, chemical plant workers, and airport refuelers.

Our members are governed by the Constitution of the National Union and the By-laws of our Local. Each workplace is represented on the Local executive by a Plant Committee, consisting of a chair, a secretary and, for the larger plants, members at large.

Officers and Plant Committees are elected annually, and the term of office is from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. Trustees are elected for three-year terms.

The Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) is a fiercely democratic, independent union that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

For half a century, the PPWC has maintained its core principles through times good and bad. Predicting the slowdown in the pulp and paper industry in Canada, the union has fought hard to expand its membership to education, hospitality and health care workers.

The documentary below discusses this change, and how the PPWC is adapting to the global economy of the early 21st century by encouraging a more diverse group of younger workers to join the union.