Posted by ReyFort Media
The Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) held its 35th biennial convention from November 1 to November 6, 2026, at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver. It was attended by 800 delegates who represented union members across BC.
It was in 1944 when the men’s and women’s unions at Vancouver General Hospital joined forces to form the Hospital Employees’ Federal Union, Local 180. As an industrial union – a model that crossed traditional craft and occupational lines – HEU was granted certification in 1945 to represent 390 of VGH’s 500 workers. Today, 82 years later, the HEU now represents more than 60,000 members across the province – working in acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, community settings and Indigenous services.
HEU is now the oldest and largest trade union for hospital workers and health care specialists in British Columbia.
Congratulations to the HEU for a successful convention, to the HEU newly-elected Provincial Executive, and all the 2026 convention award winners!
And heartfelt congratulations to……………..
Congratulations to Dennise Velasco, the recipient of the 2026 HEU Convention Social Justice Award for his outstanding work in the area of peace and global justice! Velasco embodies “the spirit of the HEU through his leadership in the union, the workplace, and in the community.”
Velasco is not only a proud member of his HEU local, he is also a Migrante British Columbia (BC) member, and the Deputy Secretary General of Migrante Canada.
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CAPTIONS: Pic 1Photo caption: L-R: Benito Lim, Chair of Migrante BC and a member of SEIU, Lynn Bueckert (HEU Secretary-Business Manager), Barbara Nederpel (HEU President) Betty Valenzuela (HEU Financial Secretary), Dennise Velasco (HEU Awardee) and Diane Zapata (HEU staff and Migrante BC member). Photo credit: HEU
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Congratulations to Betty Valenzuela on her re-election as HEU Financial Secretary for the term 2026-2028. Valenzuela made HEU history in her election as the union’s first racialized officer in 2018. Valenzuela has been a member of HEU since 1995. Valenzuela brings people, unions, and community organizations together as spaces for connection, sharing, and unity.
PIC 2: Photo caption: Betty Valenzuela, HEU Financial Secretary. Photo credit: HEU
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Pic 3 : Photo caption: Cora Mojica (5th from left) with Betty Valenzuela, HEU Financial Secretary (6th from left), and other HEU delegates at the HEU Convention Equity Night. Photo credit: HEU
Congratulations to Cora Mojica on her re-election as the Diversity Vice-President for Ethnic Diversity, one of the Equity Standing Committees of the HEU, for the term 2026-2028. Cora Mojica is also a long-time member and past board member of Migrante BC.
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