BREAKING: Sheraton Vancouver Airport Workers Issue 72-hour Strike Notice

Strike looms at premier convention hotel during busy season

Richmond, BC – Sheraton Vancouver Airport (YVR) workers issued 72-hour strike notice to management at noon today. The workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, will be in a legal strike position as of Monday afternoon. This comes after 88% of the Sheraton YVR staff – including housekeepers, banquet servers, front desk agents, and the hotel’s Starbucks food service workers – voted in favour of strike on May 20.

Most staff at the hotel earn less than Vancouver’s living wage of $24.08. A majority of Sheraton YVR workers are women and immigrants, many of whom are working multiple jobs to afford rent and groceries for their families and struggling to make ends meet. Sheraton YVR workers are seeking similar compensation for their service and dedication to the hotel’s success. Workers also want the hotel industry standard for banquet gratuity transparency to ensure tips are being correctly distributed, and for a guarantee that guest rooms will be cleaned daily.

“Sheraton is a top destination for people landing at YVR airport and is known to be one of the largest and busiest hotels in the lower mainland. We are approximately $5 per hour behind other similar hotels in the Vancouver area – that’s up to a 30% wage difference. In our latest bargaining sessions with the company, they have made it clear they have no intention of providing us with living wages. As working at Sheraton YVR has become increasingly frustrating, we have never been more united and willing to fight for what is right for us and our families,” said Shaelyn Arnould, a Starbucks food service worker who has been at the hotel for 5 years.

Sheraton YVR, operated by Larco Hospitality, is owned by the Lalji family – one of the 20 wealthiest families in Canada.

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com

Job Posting:  YVR Airport Justice Organizer 

The organizer for the YVR Airport Justice Organizer will be recruiting and training a worker committee to stand up for airport concessions workers through worker actions, political and community organizing. Organizers work with members and unorganized workers to build the leadership and solidarity necessary to build a progressive and strong labour union. The successful applicant we are looking for is driven, courageous, open to feedback, hard working, and a fighter with a deep commitment to social change.

 

Job Duties:

  • Plan, develop, implement, and evaluate union recruitment strategies including policies, programs, and procedures.
  • Ensure union is advised of developments, potential obstacles, and other relevant activities.
  • Develop and establish member training material and sessions.
  • Organize and participate in meetings and demonstrations.
  • Promote rank and file leadership development.
  • Identify and meet with worker leaders to recruit and train them as union leaders for their particular workplace campaign, in union and non-union settings.
  • Identify workplace issues, learn the relevant collective agreement language, and pursue resolution through the grievance and arbitration procedures.
  • Frequently attend multiple distant locations within a short time span in order to meet with workers at their homes and other sites. Many of these locations will not be easily accessible by public transit.

 

Job Requirements:

1 year of experience as a labour/union organizer, rank and file union activist, and/or experience working with the student, immigrant, LGBTQ+, and/or environmental activist communities.

 

Contact: Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume outlining relevant experience and including references to updates@unitehere40.com. Only candidates meeting all requirements will be contacted for interviews.

Media Advisory: Richmond Hotel Workers to Hold Mass Rally to Mark 2-Year Strike

Demonstration to be held Thursday, May 25, at 5PM

Richmond, BC — Pacific Gateway (now Radisson Blu) hotel workers will hold a rally this Thursday to commemorate two years of being on strike. This is the longest hotel strike in B.C. history. Workers have been on the picket line daily since May 2021 to fight back against management’s pandemic terminations and attempts to rollback wages and benefits.

During the pandemic, the hotel terminated 143 long-term staff, mostly women and people of colour, while it was used as a federal quarantine site. The owner, an affiliate PHI Hotel Group, refused to recall staff as business recovered as other local hotels have done. The federal government left the hotel in 2022 after workers urged them to move. The hotel has been rebranded under a new name – Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport.

The BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress have issued a boycott of the hotel until the owner agrees to rehire workers and settles a fair contract. The City of Richmond has resolved not to support events or promote business with the hotel until a resolution is reached with the workers.

WHO: Striking hotel workers and community allies from across the lower mainland.

WHERE: 3500 Cessna Drive, Richmond BC

WHEN: Thursday, May 25 at 5:00 P.M.

VISUALS: Hotel workers and community allies chanting, marching, and speaking with colourful banners, signs, and bullhorns. Striking hotel workers and UNITE HERE Local 40 representatives will be made available for interviews in English, Punjabi and Mandarin.

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com

BREAKING: Sheraton Vancouver Airport workers vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike action

Richmond, BC – Workers at Sheraton Vancouver Airport (YVR) voted 88% in favour of strike action this weekend. After months of bargaining and mediation efforts, Sheraton YVR workers are considering taking strike action to secure living wages. The workers, including housekeepers, banquet staff, front desk agents, and the hotel’s Starbucks food service workers, are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40.

Sheraton YVR workers are demanding the premier convention hotel stop paying low-end wages. The hotel’s wages fall behind competing Vancouver area hotels, with most workers earning less than a living wage. Some of the staff are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. They are seeking wage parity with comparable high-end hotels that pay $5 more per hour so they can afford to live in Richmond and Greater Vancouver.

The hotel is owned by one of the 20 wealthiest families in Canada, the Lalji family, through an affiliate of Larco Hospitality.

“Our hotel is owned by one of Canada’s richest families, but they refuse to pay us fairly for the work we do. I cleaned rooms here for over 25 years and I’m proud of that. I got injured on the job, but I’m still here, contributing to our guests’ experience and helping to make the hotel successful. It feels like Larco doesn’t value the workers here, so I’m ready to strike for the respect and living wage I deserve.” said Ana Wong, a room attendant.

The workers, the majority of whom are women and immigrants, want Larco Hospitality to agree to livable wages for the staff and to adopt the hotel industry standard for banquet gratuity transparency to ensure tips are being correctly distributed.

“I’ve worked at this hotel for 6 years, but I’m also working 1-2 other jobs to get by. I don’t see a future for myself in this city. I want to find my own place, but I can’t with what I earn. I feel stuck, and everyday life is hard when you are struggling to keep up with rising costs for rent, gas, insurance, and groceries. I’m willing to strike because inflation continues to rise, and me and my fellow workers need to do something about it now,” said Felisha Perry, a part-time banquet server.

“I’m sharing my two-bedroom apartment with two roommates so I can afford my rent, but it still takes up most of my pay. I’m only 24 years old, yet I feel hopeless. I can’t save for my future, or even afford a car, and I work full-time. I want to strike because there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for me. With what I make, I won’t be able to live in a nice home or raise a family, and that’s not right,” said Shaelyn Arnould, a Starbucks food service worker who has been at the hotel for 5 years.

Picket lines could go up any time after workers issue 72-hour strike notice.

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com

Press Release: Inn at Laurel Point Workers avert strike, increase their wages by 20% or more

Victoria, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40 members at the Inn at Laurel Point have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new collective agreement last night. Workers voted 98% in favour of the contract, securing significant wage gains to meet the rising cost of living in Victoria. Workers bargained a wage increase of 20% or more from June 2022 – February 2026.  By the end of the new contract, Cooks will earn 25% more in wages over the previous agreement, while Room Attendants will earn 26% more.

Under the new contract, the tipped workers achieved improvements to protecting their gratuities. These new protections give servers, bartenders, banquet staff, room attendants and bellstaff the right to review records to ensure management correctly pays automatic charges and credit/debit card tips and it prohibits management creating tip pools. Front Desk staff won unprecedented protections of their sales commissions.

“Getting the contract we want means that I am better able to support my family. The team here at Laurel Point – the housekeepers, front desk agents, banquet workers, restaurant servers, kitchen staff and other departments – are what keeps this place an amazing place to work and stay. I’m very proud that we all stuck together to attain a living wage, given Victoria’s high rate of inflation. I hope this inspires other unions and workers to demand what is fair and just for them as well,” said Aaron Walters, a server at Inn at Laurel Point’s Aura Restaurant

The contract win for Inn at Laurel Point workers averts a strike and ensures they will continue to provide four-star service to guests during the busy tourist season. Workers had issued 72-hour strike notice on April 27 after months at the bargaining table.

“The workers are happy and relieved to come to an agreement. We were fortunate to have a strong group of organizers and committee to achieve this fair result,” said Harj Aheer, front desk agent at the Inn.

 

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com