Wedding Advisory Issued for the Inn at Laurel Point
Overworked employees at top wedding destination — Inn at Laurel Point – ask management, “Where’s the Love?”
– Housekeepers launch appeal to wedding planners and couples –
Wedding season is upon us, but workers from the Inn at Laurel Point are not feeling the love. Laurel Point hotel workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, and their community supporters held a press conference on Friday May 26th, issuing a “Wedding Advisory” to inform prospective newlyweds about unfair working conditions at the high-end hotel.
The Inn at Laurel Point is a popular wedding destination for young couples looking to tie the knot. While the Inn promotes itself as a socially responsible hotel, workers describe a different story behind the scenes. Laurel Point housekeepers report having to work through their breaks. Bellmen are expected to unclog toilets on top of carrying baggage.
“We all made concessions during the recession years, enduring high workloads and skeleton crews while the hotel was saving money. Now that we are in a tourism boom, I would like to see that goodwill come back to us,” says Susanne Kunert a worker at Aura, the hotel’s in-house restaurant.
A number of unions and community groups turned out to support the workers, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Professional Employees Association, BCGEU, Together against Poverty Society, and the faith based Kairos Victoria were all on hand for the announcement.
“I want to extend our solidarity to all of the staff, and to let management know that if these issues persist, we will have discussions with Local 40 before we book this hotel. We don’t want to support a business that doesn’t treat workers fairly,” said Sussanne Skidmore, Executive Vice President of the BCGEU.