Media Advisory: TODAY – Hospitality Workers Delegate Air Canada Management
In fourth month of strike, Air Canada continues to sacrifice guest experience by sending passengers to Richmond hotels behind picket lines
Richmond, BC – TODAY striking Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers – represented by UNITE HERE Local 40 – will delegate management the Air Canada office near Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airline has been sending passengers across picket lines to the Hilton Vancouver Airport and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels.
Larco Hospitality operates the Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels in Richmond – forming British Columbia’s largest hotel complex which regularly accommodates flight crews and airline passengers. Sheraton Vancouver Airport workers launched their strike on June 14 in their fight for living wages. Since the strike began, five airlines have withdrawn their business from the hotel complex in solidarity with the workers – WestJet, Porter Airlines, UPS, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.
In July, 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 Hilton and Marriott hotels. Despite this, Air Canada continues to send passengers to the two hotels, unnecessarily involving their guests in a labour dispute.
On August 4, Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers held a protest at YVR Airport calling on Air Canada to follow other airlines in boycotting the three hotels. Community supporters have since sent over 600 letters to Air Canada executives urging the company to stop booking passengers at the Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels for the duration of the strike.
WHEN: TODAY – Friday, September 15 at 10:00 AM
WHO: Striking Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers
WHERE: 6001 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond
VISUALS: Hotel workers chanting, marching, and speaking with colourful signs
Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, sharan@unitehere40.com