Gavin McGarrigle is currently Unifor’s Western Regional Director since he was elected in 2019, after serving as B.C. Area Director and as a National Representative since 2006.

Gavin was a University of Victoria student in Sociology and Professional Writing as well as a restaurant server when he helped organize and lead a strike for a first contract in 1998. He continued union organizing and was elected President of Local 4234 and First Vice-President of Local 114 where he serviced members in many industries, including at the bargaining table and through arbitrations.

Active in many election campaigns, McGarrigle oversaw the Unifor campaigns in 2017 and 2020 that led to a change in government and the subsequent re-election of the largest NDP majority in B.C. history.

He has opposed anti-union legislation in Manitoba and the anti-worker policies of Alberta’s United Conservative Party and supported Unifor Votes efforts in the recent Saskatchewan and federal elections.

Gavin continued to organize and mobilize members to help achieve important legislative gains including single-step unionization in B.C. and skilled trades certification. Today, he is still pressing for a sustainable and inclusive foundation for B.C.’s forestry industry and for workers’ voices to be heard in all sectors.

Gavin has been a leader on many picket lines to highlight the need for anti-scab legislation, including the Co-op Refinery lockout in Saskatchewan, and he continues to push for a nation-wide ban.

Gavin has also served on the Board of Directors at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in B.C., as the founding labour co-chair for the metro Vancouver Better Transit and Transportation Coalition, and on the Board of Vote PR BC.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Gavin has lived in British Columbia for more than 25 years.

Gavin is seeking re-election as Western Regional Director to bring forth a vision of Unifor as a modern social union for everyone, with everyone.

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