Press Release: Striking Hotel Workers to Urge Richmond City Council to Support Fight for a Living Wage and Boycott the Sheraton, Marriott, and Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotels

Richmond, BC — TODAY, a delegation of striking Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel workers will speak before Richmond City Council to urge City Councillors not to spend any public money at the Sheraton, as well as it’s sister hotels – the Marriott and Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotels – until the labour dispute is resolved. The BC Labour Board deemed the three hotels, operated by Larco Hospitality, a common site and is permitting striking workers to picket the perimeter of the hotels. Now in their seventh month on strike, Sheraton Vancouver Airport workers – represented by UNITE HERE Local 40 – will ask the Council to support their fight for a living wage from the employer and respect their boycott of these Richmond hotels.

In 2022, Richmond City Council adopted a resolution that they will not support events or promote any business with Pacific Gateway Hotel (since renamed Radisson Blu) until an agreement with the union has been reached. Sheraton Vancouver Airport workers will ask Council to act accordingly in 2024, officially boycotting the Sheraton, Hilton, and Marriott Vancouver Airport hotels – the largest hotel complex in BC – until a new collective agreement is reached. The workers, many who reside in Richmond, are fighting for pay increases that will bring them closer to Metro Vancouver’s living wage of $25.68 per hour.

The Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel was found to have violated the Labour Code multiple times in 2023 after workers walked off the job on June 14. This included using unlawful replacement workers to perform bargaining unit work of striking workers, and rebooking rooms for guests, as well as illegally moving events, from the Sheraton to neighbouring Marriott and Hilton hotels. “It is unacceptable that this employer has repeatedly violated the law, while refusing to seriously address workers’ wage concerns in an effort to resolve this dispute,” said Zailda Chan, UNITE HERE Local 40 President.

The BC Federation of Labour, representing nearly fifty affiliated unions with approximately 500,000 members across the province, has declared a public boycott of the hotel complex. “Our movement doesn’t use boycotts lightly. But when an employer repeatedly treats their workers with callous disrespect and appalling unfairness, a boycott is exactly the right response.” said Sussanne Skidmore, President of the BC Federation of Labour.

“City Council should do the right thing and adopt a resolution not to do business with the Sheraton, Marriott and Hilton Vancouver Airport hotels,” said Felisha Perry, a striking banquet server at the Sheraton and a Richmond resident. “Our strike, now in its seventh month, is fundamentally about earning enough to live. We want Council to stand with those of us fighting for a living wage and send a message to one of Canada’s wealthiest hotel owners to respect workers and resolve this dispute.”

 

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