When Betty Christopher first joined the Bermuda Public Services Union in 1965 the union operated out of borrowed rooms in Government offices.

Now as she steps down as President the union is looking at a multi-million dollar revamp of their Cedar Avenue base after growing from around 500 members when she first joined to 3,200 members in 2002.

In her 37 years she has seen the union, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, grow in power.

It conducting its first strike in 1973, backed by the Bermuda Industrial Union, over pay. The strike affected all areas including the Post Office where 2,000 bags of mail were stockpiled during the 12-day strike.

Members picketed the House of Assembly which saw the Progressive Labour Party boycotting the opening of Parliament but the struggle was worthwhile with the union earning a 13.5 percent pay hike.

However, Mrs. Christopher was laid up in a hospital bed during much of the action, which was led by her sister Verbena Daniels.

Mrs. Christopher said: "I think most people were surprised the Civil Service would actually go on strike.

"Some people didn't want to go on strike for fear of victimisation but there was a group who were very enthused.

"For a time Government was unrelenting, that's why we had to pursue it but we remained steadfast and achieved what we wanted."

And Government was even more surprised when the BPSU came out in a one-day sympathy strike for the BIU in 1981 following a membership vote in the yard at the union's HQ which was then in Wesley Street.

Mrs. Christopher recalls: "Twenty members resigned in protest over the way the vote was done.

"We were trying to make sure every worker in Bermuda had a proper salary."

She said the strike led to the forming of a Bermuda Trade Union Congress to let unions speak with one voice on critical issues affecting the nation.

She said there was a strained atmosphere with Government in the aftermath of the strike.

"They didn't expect us to come out in sympathy which was against the law."

During the 1980s the union expanded by bringing in private sector companies including BTC, pharmacists, Stonington Beach Hotel, The Corporation of Hamilton, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and Cable and Wireless.

Mrs. Christopher recalls the acquisition of the union's own HQ in Cedar Avenue in 1981 as one of the most memorable periods. Members worked together to decorate and renovate the building while Mrs. Christopher cleaned the toilets.

She said: "It needed quite a bit of work. We got people to volunteer and it fostered camaraderie."

During her time with the union Mrs. Christopher has done many a negotiation.

She says: "I am a behind the scenes person, a shaker and a mover. I believe in teamwork."

The trick is to go prepared says Mrs. Christopher. "You will have confidence in yourself to present your case. All negotiation is precisely that - give and take."

However during her time in the union, which has seen her hold nearly every post before being elected to President in 1998, she has seen some bosses who only wanted to take.

She recalls one employer who visited an employer in hospital to tell him he was being made redundant.

"I was horrified. I rushed down there and spoke to both of them and I was able to get his job back."

Thankfully she believes some employers have softened over the years but she says some would benefit from allowing unions full disclosure when redundancies and restructuring was coming up so that the blow can be softened.

Some employees have created problems said Mrs. Christopher by not telling the union the whole story when they were involved in disputes. "Sometimes when you are shocked by the truth."

As the union moves forward in the new century Mrs. Christopher believes succession planning needs to be set up to ensure the union has younger members that can carry it forward.

She also believes that worldwide amalgamation of unions will become more relevant as the labour movement responds to globalisation.