Media Advisory: TODAY – Hospitality Workers to Protest Air Canada at YVR Airport

Hotel workers demand Air Canada respect Richmond picket lines

 

Richmond, BC – TODAY striking Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers – represented by UNITE HERE Local 40 – will hold a protest outside of the Air Canada gates at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airline has been sending passengers to the Hilton Vancouver Airport and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels in Richmond, where picket lines are up.

The Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels in Richmond – operated by Larco Hospitality – form British Columbia’s largest hotel complex. The hotels regularly accommodate large flight crews landing at YVR Airport as well as airline passengers who have experienced flight delays. Sheraton Vancouver Airport workers launched their strike on June 14 in their fight for living wages. Since then, five airlines have withdrawn their business from the hotel complex in solidarity with the striking workers – WestJet, Porter Airlines, UPS, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.

Last week, the BC Labour Board deemed the three hotels a common site and is permitting striking workers to picket the perimeter of the hotels. The extended picket line runs from 7am-7pm daily and affects guests staying at the non-union Hilton and Marriott hotels. Despite this, Air Canada continues to send flight passengers over the picket line to the two hotels.

The BC Federation of Labour has declared a public boycott of the Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels. The BCFED boycott in Richmond extends to an unrelated hotel, Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport, where workers are also on strike.

 

WHEN: TODAY – August 4 at 10:00 AM

WHO: Striking Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers

WHERE: Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Air Canada Gates

VISUALS: Hotel workers chanting, marching, and speaking with colourful banners, signs, and bullhorns.

 

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com

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