BREAKING: Hospitality Workers at Parsnip Lodge Authorize Strike

Risk of disruption to Coastal GasLink pipeline project

British Columbia – On Saturday, hospitality workers at Horizon North Parsnip Lodge near Prince George voted 95% in favour of strike action. The 150 workers – including room attendants, kitchen staff, janitors, and front desk agents – are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40. Parsnip Lodge, set to close permanently this year, houses up to 1,200 Coastal GasLink pipeline workers. A strike at the property would affect the pipeline project as alternate mass accommodations for workers in the region are not available.

Horizon North operates Parsnip Lodge on behalf of Coastal GasLink. Parsnip Lodge hospitality workers are asking the employer to respect their hard work by providing three months of severance pay per year of service at the worksite. The Lodge opened and unionized with UNITE HERE Local 40 in 2020.

“Camp hospitality workers across British Columbia deserve to be valued for their services. These workers provide a home away from home for thousands of workers in remote areas, and they are critical to the success of major construction projects in our province. Our members at Parsnip Lodge have spent years taking care of guests working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The workers want to be compensated with fair severance pay as the project nears completion. We are hopeful we can resolve this issue with the employer in bargaining and avoid a strike action at the site,” said Zailda Chan, UNITE HERE Local 40 President.

UNITE HERE Local 40 also represents camp hospitality workers at Cedar Valley Lodge and Crossroads Lodge in Kitimat. Earlier this year, workers at the two camp sites voted in favour of their new collective agreements, averting strike actions. The new contacts included substantial pay increases and improved workload protections.

The Union and the employer are currently in bargaining.

 

Media contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, [email protected]

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]

Media Advisory: Crossroads Lodge Labour Dispute Update

Kitimat, BC – Workers at Crossroads Lodge – represented by UNITE HERE Local 40 – and the Employer are currently in negotiations. Workers have voted in favour of strike action, but no action will take place until our negotiation process is concluded.

Crossroads Lodge staff are seeking an equal wage increase to Building Trades workers at the LNG Canada camp, who received a 12% raise last year, and calling for stronger workload protections. The collective agreement expired on May 10.

 

Media Contact: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, [email protected]

BREAKING: Kitimat Hospitality Workers at Crossroads Lodge Authorize Strike

Second threat of Kitimat hospitality worker strike in recent weeks, risk of pipeline disruption

 

Kitimat, BC – This weekend, hospitality workers at Horizon North Crossroads Lodge have voted 100% in favour of strike action. The workers – including room attendants, kitchen staff, servers, janitors and front desk agents – are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40. The 800 rooms at Crossroads Lodge house LNG Canada pipeline workers and Kitimat construction workers. Projects in the surrounding area would be affected by strike action as alternative mass worker accommodations in the Kitimat region are not available.

The collective agreement at Crossroads Lodge expired on May 10, with workers and management far away on key issues at the bargaining table. Workers, many who earn less than a living wage, are asking for fair pay that allow them to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living in British Columbia. Lodge workers are seeking an equal wage increase to Building Trades workers at the LNG Canada camp, who received a 12% raise last year. Crossroads Lodge staff are also in need of workload protections as they are expected to take on heavy and unstainable workloads caused by understaffing.

“Crossroads Lodge workers deserve respect for the work we do in Kitimat, and this strike vote demonstrates how we stand united for the wages and workload we need. We want to continue to provide our services and create a home away from home those staying and working here, but we don’t want to be overlooked anymore. The Sodexo workers’ victory at Cedar Valley Lodge proves how valuable hospitality workers are in this region, and like them, we hope to reach a deal soon and avoid strike action”, said Kathy Wallace, a Second Cook who has worked at Crossroads Lodge for four years.

On July 22, hundreds of Local 40 members at nearby Cedar Valley Lodge voted 100% in favour of their new collective agreement which included substantial pay increases, setting a new wage standard for BC camp hospitality workers. Their new contract also established workload protections for kitchen, janitorial and housekeeping staff.

The Union and the employer are currently in mediation.

 

Media contact: Sharan Pawa, 602-710-1693, [email protected]

Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport Violated Labour Laws During Strike

Richmond, BC – Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport hotel has admitted to engaging in multiple violations of labour laws during a protracted strike by its hotel workers.  On Wednesday, the BC Labour Relations Board declared in a consent order that the employer breached the labour code by illegally using replacement workers to do the work of striking UNITE HERE members.

Workers have been on strike at the hotel, formerly Pacific Gateway, for over two years.  They struck after the employer terminated 143 long-term workers – mostly women – during the pandemic and demanded drastic concessions from remaining workers. Strikers have picketed the hotel daily since May 3, 2021; a customer boycott is also in effect.

The employer, an affiliate of PHI Hotel Group, was caught using impermissible workers to do housekeeping and maintenance work.  The employer was also found to have used four unlawful replacement workers, hired through a contractor, to perform the work of striking bargaining unit members.

The Labour Board ordered the employer to cease and desist from using impermissible replacement workers and ordered the employer to provide several disclosures on work performed at the hotel.  These include providing the Union with a daily breakdown of tasks performed by all managers hired after the hotel was given notice to bargain, and a daily list of all employees, contractors and subcontractors working in the hotel each day with their respective work assignments. The employer will also be required to provide hotel occupancy information to the Union.

“There is simply no excuse for the employer to be using unlawful replacement workers. PHI Hotel Group has an experienced, professional hotel staff who devoted years of service to this hotel. Instead of breaking the law, the owners should be returning long-term staff to their jobs and negotiating a fair contract so that they can take participate in Richmond’s booming hotel market and provide quality service to guests again,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40.

 

Media Contacts: Sharan Pawa, 604-710-1693, [email protected]; or Michelle Travis, 778-960-9785, [email protected].