Reflecting the changing face of our membership

BCNU's multicultural committee held its founding meeting during the union's convention in 2005. "It was an exciting meeting," recalls BCNU treasurer and Vancouver General Hospital nurse Mabel Tung who chairs the group. "We had 50 nurses from diverse backgrounds talking about the future of BCNU and their place in it. Having a multicultural group supported by BCNU shows members that we are an inclusive organization that represents everyone.

"It's critical for BCNU to address issues that are specific to nurses from visible and invisible minorities," agrees BC Cancer Agency nurse Petra St. Pierre. "The face of BCNU is changing and it has to be reflected throughout the organization."

Tung says statistics reveal that in 2001, 31 per cent of British Columbians and 49 per cent of Vancouverites had a visible minority background. In BCNU, in 2001, 17 per cent of members were from a visible minority – but only 6.3 per cent are in BCNU leadership positions.

"It's important to support members of visible minorities in getting involved in BCNU and also to develop the skills they need to help build our union," says Tung.

She also would like to see more BCNU members speaking out in the ethnic media and participating in events in ethnic communities. "We need more members talking to their own communities about nursing issues," she says. "We need to do a better job promoting BCNU and our issues in those communities.