Living Wage for Families Campaign Organizer  Full time position (35 hours/week), including evening and weekend work, as necessary Location: First Call office, downtown Vancouver First Call is a dynamic, non-partisan coalition of over 100 provincial and regional partner organizations in British Columbia committed to strengthening support for the well-being of children and youth in BC. Through public education, community mobilization and public policy advocacy, our non-profit coalition aims to ensure children and youth receive “first call” on society’s resources and their rights are understood and respected. (See www.firstcallbc.org for more information.) Building on our work monitoring child poverty levels in BC, since 2009 First Call has hosted the Living Wage for Families Campaign to address the high proportion of children who live with parents/caregivers in the paid workforce whose wages are insufficient to lift their families out of poverty. In collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and other partners, the Living Wage is recalculated annually based on the earnings needed to allow a household to meet its basic needs, after government transfers are taken into account. The campaign has certified over 100 living wage employers to date. Position Summary Overall accountability for the day-to-day operations of the Living Wage for Families Campaign to achieve agreed-upon campaign objectives as laid out in annual campaign/program plan. Continue reading

The Living Wage Increases Across BC Soaring housing costs is causing the living wage to increase in Metro Vancouver The cost of raising a family in British Columbia increased slightly from 2017 to 2018. And if it hadn’t been for reductions in Medical Service Plan premiums and child care costs, the increase would have been higher. A $20.91 hourly wage is needed to cover the costs of raising a family in Metro Vancouver, up from is $20.62 per hour in 2017. This is the hourly wage that two working parents with two young children must earn to meet their basic expenses (including rent, child care, food and transportation), once government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies have been taken into account. The cost is calculated annually in Working for a Living Wage : Making Paid Work Meet Basic Family Needs in Metro Vancouver, a report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ BC office, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition and the Living Wage for Families Campaign. Continue reading

What does the minimum wage increase mean for BC Families? BC leads the country in having the highest rate of working poverty. A $15/hr minimum wage will mean a raise for 400,000 workers across BC who are working for less than that. Continue reading

The City of Pitt Meadows has become the sixth local government in BC to certify as a Living Wage employer, certified by the Living Wage for Families Campaign. As a certified living wage employer, the City is committed to paying employees and employees of externally contracted service providers a living wage, as determined by the LWFC.  Continue reading

PARC Retirement Living is the first retirement residence to certify as a Living Wage Employer in BC. PARC Retirement Living provides four independent retirement residences in the Lower Mainland.  Continue reading

Through implementing a living wage the City of Vancouver has demonstrated that there is a role for employers in ending poverty.   Continue reading

"Think about the improvement in our community's quality of life if every employer in the Comox Valley was living wage certified." Post originally published in the Comox Valley Record, December 13, 2016 Continue reading

From all of us at the Living Wage for Families Campaign, thank you for all that you do to support the living wage in your communities. The living wage is gaining momentum across BC. We’ve doubled the number of Living Wage Employers in the past two years. Look at what else you’ve helped us accomplish in 2016. Congratulations to you all! Continue reading