News: Second Labour Board Ruling Finds Executive Hotel Group Broke the Law to Block Unionizing

Board orders Remedial Certification of Union at EXchange Hotel

Vancouver, BC — For the second time in less than a year, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board has ruled that an affiliate of Executive Group broke the law to prevent workers from freely choosing union representation.

In a decision released January 2, 2026, the Board ordered the automatic certification of UNITE HERE Local 40 at the EXchange Hotel Vancouver after finding that management illegally interfered with the organizing drive through pressure, intimidation, and inducements.

The Board found that the employer:

• Pressured employees to rescind signed union cards;
• Directed management to “stop the union” during the certification vote;
• Introduced wage increases and workplace changes after learning of the organizing drive; and
• Promised future bonuses and flexibility to discourage union support.

Vice-Chair Jonathan Hanvelt ruled that these actions violated sections 6(1) and 6(3)(d) of the Labour Relations Code and effectively stopped the union campaign, making it impossible to determine workers’ true wishes through a vote.

Crucially, the Board pointed to a pattern of unlawful conduct by the same hotel group. In an earlier 2025 decision involving another Executive-branded property, Le Soleil Hotel, the Board found that management unlawfully interfered with union organizing by steering employees toward its preferred union, CLAC, to block UNITE HERE.

In the EXchange Hotel ruling, the Board Chair noted the remedy in this case needs to be a deterrent to future breaches, noting that some of the same decision-makers were involved in both cases and warning that lesser remedies risk becoming a “licence fee” for breaking the law.

“This is now the second Labour Board decision confirming that this hotel group crossed the legal line to stop workers from organizing,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “The message from the Board could not be clearer: employers do not get to intimidate workers or interfere with their democratic right to choose a union.”

The Board ordered remedial certification of the union, a remedy reserved for the most serious cases of employer misconduct.  In addition to certifying the union, the Board ordered the employer to prominently post the decision in staff areas at the hotel.

This is the third downtown Vancouver hotel to join UNITE HERE Local 40 in the past six months. Local 40 recently organized Hyatt Vancouver Downtown Alberni (formerly Shangri La) and Georgian Court Hotel.

The company that owns the EXchange Hotel, Executive Group, was also the source of controversy recently in the District of West Vancouver. A coalition of organizations raised concerns that a residential development owned by the company, Executive on the Park, is skirting rental housing commitments by marketing the units as extended-stay hotel units.

 

Media Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785