Unions paying the piper for NDP

In the last four years, unions have donated more than $3 million to the NDP. This is on top of the money – another $3 million -- unions have spent for their own third-party advertising leading up to and during election campaigns. Ties between the NDP and the unions are as tight as they ever were, with the BC Federation of Labour continuing to hold hands with Carole James and her party.

Carole James committed years ago to severing ties with organized labour, but obviously that doesn’t count when it comes to taking their money. In a recent speech to the BC Fed, Carole James made it clear that the NDP and the BC Fed were one in the same. She said:

"Together we will stand up for working families, for the everyday people who keep B.C. going. And on May 12, 2009, we will win an historic victory!"

How much did the BC Federation of Labour and its affiliate members donate to the BC NDP? The reports cover each calendar year, and January to October 2008 (when two by-elections were held in Vancouver):

2005-Oct 2008

· Total union donations: $3,320,751.52
· Total donations from the BC Federation of Labour: $614,783.00
· Total donations from the BC Federation of Labour affiliate unions: $2,386,664.51
· Total union donations for 2008: $483,186.51
· Total union donations for 2007: $219, 841.00
· Total union donations for 2006: $86,925.00
· Total union donations for 2005: $2,530,799.01

Do we want unions dictating economic policy for our province?

Wrong party. Wrong leader. Wrong time.