UNITE HERE Launches Website Advising Customers of Strike at Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport
Website informs public about ongoing labour dispute and treatment of women
Vancouver, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40 has launched a new website, www.BoycottRadissonBluYVR.ca, to inform leisure and corporate travellers, tour groups, and wedding planners about the protracted labour dispute and treatment of women at Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport.
Workers have been on strike at this hotel for two years. The Union is advising customers to boycott the Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport and book with alternative hotels until workers are recalled with a fair contract.
The website provides background into the dispute which began when the employer, PHI Hotel Group, terminated 143 workers during the pandemic and refused to recall them to their jobs as tourism recovered. Meanwhile, the employer raked in millions of taxpayer dollars when they allowed the hotel to be used as a mandatory quarantine site. The remaining workers went on strike in May 2021.
The website informs prospective guests about the disproportionate impact of the terminations on women, many of whom are from immigrant communities. Approximately 90% of the hotel’s housekeeping staff was terminated as were most of the restaurant staff.
“For 17 years, I worked at the hotel until they took advantage of the pandemic to fire 90% of its housekeeping staff. We made the hotel successful. We don’t deserve to be treated like we’re disposable,” said Kiran Dhillon, one of the affected room attendants.
The site advises hotel customers that current services at the 400-room hotel are limited given the impact of the mass terminations and ongoing strike.
Richmond City Council has resolved not to use the hotel until an agreement has been reached with the workers. The BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress have endorsed a hotel boycott. Visitors to the website will find information about fair hotels to consider using for alternative bookings.
The hotel, formerly Pacific Gateway, was recently rebranded as a Radisson Blu. It is majority owned by an affiliate of Surrey-based PHI Hotel Group which also operates hotels in B.C. and Alberta.
URLs:
www.RadissonBluYVRHurtsWomen.ca
Media Contacts: Michelle Travis, 778-960-9785, mtravis@unitehere.org, or Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40com.