Crossroads Lodge Hospitality Workers in Kitimat Win Immediate 10% Wage Increase and Groundbreaking Workload Protections
New agreement averts strike and possible disruption to LNG Canada pipeline project
Kitimat, BC – Yesterday, hospitality workers at Crossroads Lodge voted 88% in favour to ratify their new collective agreement. The workers – including room attendants, kitchen staff, janitors, and guest service agents – are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40.
In the new one-year contract, workers have won immediate 10% wage increases and groundbreaking workload protections for housekeeping and kitchen staff. Crossroads Lodge houses up to 800 LNG Canada pipeline workers and Kitimat construction workers. The agreement between the Lodge workers and Horizon North, operator of Crossroads Lodge, was reached following mediation and averts a strike at the LNG Canada construction site.
Under the new agreement, Crossroads Lodge staff now earn over a living wage and can better support themselves and their families in British Columbia. Workers have also bargained standard-setting workload protections for kitchen staff and housekeepers to combat continued understaffing in the hospitality industry.
“My co-workers and I are thrilled about our victory at Crossroads Lodge! We were overworked and underpaid, but now we have a contract that gives us the respect we deserve. We feel like we have a brighter future with the pay increases we received, and the monumental shift in kitchen and housekeeping workloads was much needed – it will help keep these jobs sustainable for us for years to come. I hope our win, as well as the victory at Cedar Valley Lodge in Kitimat, will inspire hospitality workers across the province to stand up for their rights; through the power of collective action, we can win fairness and dignity for all workers,” said Kathy Wallace, a Second Cook who has worked at Crossroads Lodge for four years.
UNITE HERE Local 40 represents approximately 1,000 remote camp hospitality workers across BC. This July, Local 40 Sodexo members at nearby Cedar Valley Lodge voted in favour of their new collective agreement which also included substantial pay increases and established workload protections. Local 40 also represents workers at Sitka Lodge in Kitimat, and LNG custodians involved in the energy project.
Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, [email protected]