Media Advisory: Tomorrow NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Joins Striking Vancouver Hotel Workers to Celebrate Thanksgiving!
What: Hotel Workers Thanksgiving Lunch
When: Monday, October 14, 2019 at 12:30pm
Where: The Westin Bayshore, 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver
Who: UNITE HERE Local 40 hotel workers entering their fourth week on strike at four downtown Vancouver hotels (Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore, Pinnacle Harbourfront), including hotel room attendants, cooks, front desk workers, and bellmen.
Note: Frontline UNITE HERE Local 40 hotel workers on strike now for job security, a safe workplace, and wages that make one job enough to live in Vancouver will be available for interview in person at the action or in advance by phone. To connect with strikers in advance or at the action, contact Sharan.
WHY: 1,200 Vancouver hotel workers are on strike for the first time in nearly 20 years, demanding that American hotel corporations like Marriott stop paying Canadian workers less than American workers. This Thanksgiving long weekend Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s NDP and MP for Burnaby South, joins the strikers as they hold a feast in celebration of their fight, proud to stand united for job security, safe workplaces and wages which would make one job enough to live in Vancouver. They work for companies like Marriott which made over $2.8 billion in Canada alone last year. While Marriott gets richer, workers at their hotels like the Westin Bayshore are overworked to the risk of injury, can lose their jobs if the owner decides to close and reopen a new restaurant, and need wages that keep up with the rising cost of living. Vancouver’s hotel workers are proud to stand up to Marriott and the other corporations, developers and investors who own and operate hotels in our city that have made a life in Vancouver unaffordable. Jagmeet Singh is the first federal party leader to show support for striking hotel workers in their fight for secure and safe jobs in Canada’s most expensive city.
Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-725-0053, SPawa@Local40Union.com