PRESS RELEASE: Local 40 members see major wins in Victoria

Victoria – UNITE HERE! Local 40 members in Victoria have been on a roll over the past few weeks, having secured not one, but two major contract victories in the last month. In late November, YYJ Airport food service workers secured a foundational contract that includes significant wage increases, a new pension, workload protection, and more. Following on that victory, another group of local 40 members, staff at the Coast Victoria Harbourfront, ratified a contract with Coast Hotels on December 18, declaring the new agreement a major step forward.

Bargaining together with workers at the Coast Inn of the North in Prince George, and the Coast Bastion in Nanaimo, Coast Harbourfront workers secured a new agreement that includes wage increases, major improvements to pension and medical benefits, language to protect restaurant workers’ tips, and significant workload protection for housekeepers.

“I’ve been working at the Coast Hotel for 27 years. I am proud of my co-workers for staying strong and unified and for fighting for everything that we won in this contract. The improvements to our benefits and pension will really help me and all of my co-workers,” said Christine Hillier, a housekeeper at Coast Victoria Harbourfront.

These victories come at a time when BC’s tourism industry has been booming. Yet, Victoria’s travel and hospitality workers juggle very high workloads and a rising cost of living. UNITE HERE! Local 40 has worked hard to ensure that hospitality workers can continue to afford living and working in Victoria, pushing employers to pay wages that allow workers to keep up.

“The tourism and hospitality industry employs thousands in Victoria, and while our employers generate millions of dollars, workers’ earnings have not matched that growth. I am proud to have worked with other Local 40 members to win contracts that improve our quality of life, and give us jobs we can actually live on. This is only the beginning. I am excited to work with the union to keep transforming the lives of hospitality workers in Victoria,” said Mark Atkins, a cook at YYJ Airport.

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For more information contact: Octavian Cadabeschi at 604-813-2105 or ocadabeschi@unitehere.org