Press Release: More LNG camp workers calling on LNG Canada to deliver 12% wage increases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver, BC — Contracted LNG camp workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, held a press conference this morning calling on LNG Canada and JGC Fluor to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site.  JGC Fluor recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation but did not extend the same increases to hospitality workers. Contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.

Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge recently delivered a petition to JGC Fluor demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them the same increases that other LNG workers received.  JGC Fluor is the prime contractor for LNG Canada.

Other workers left out of 12% wage increases include Sodexo camp workers, the largest group of contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site.  UNITE HERE Local 40 sent a letter to JGC Fluor on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase.

Neither JGC Fluor or LNG Canada have responded to the workers’ petition or the letter.

“Why are we being treated like we’re second class?  We’ve played a critical role during the pandemic making sure the LNG plant runs smoothly and protecting people’s health and safety. LNG Canada/JGC Fluor seems to recognize that workers facing rapid inflation are struggling to support their families but have forgotten those of us who live paycheque to paycheque,” said Bonnie Julien, a contracted janitor at the LNG site.

For more information: contact Mike Biskar, (604) 862-5982, mbiskar@unitehere40.com, or Michelle Travis, (778) 960-9675, mtravis@unitehere.org.

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UNITE HERE Local 40 is the hospitality workers’ union and represents members in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org.

 

 

UNITE HERE Local 40 (Vancouver) Job Posting: Communications Specialist (F/T)

UNITE HERE Local 40 is a progressive labour union, dedicated to creating greater equality and opportunity for workers in the hospitality industry. Communications Specialists are embedded in local worker campaigns and play a crucial role in designing comprehensive communications strategies using digital platforms, earned media and multi-media tools to raise the visibility of worker struggles. As a Communications Specialist with UNITE HERE Local 40, you will be part of a team that empowers people in low-wage service sector jobs to achieve better wages and benefits, dignity and basic rights at work.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Developing, messaging and materials for effective communication with multiple audiences, including news media, the general public, union members and allies
  • Planning and implementing earned media outreach, including pitching news stories, organizing media events, and training union members to be spokespeople
  • Writing materials for public audiences, including leaflets, newsletters, web content, emails, news releases, fact sheets, social media posts, ads, and other content
  • Adapting written and visual materials for effective use on multiple platforms, including social media, digital advertising, email and petition platforms, and other media 
  • Collaborating with union leadership to develop, plan and lead communications strategies that support workers’ organizing and contract campaigns and analyzing effectiveness of strategies to improve campaigns
  • Writing member communications, including regular newsletters, mass texts and emails
  • Managing Local 40’s website and social media accounts and regularly creating engaging content, including documenting events and actions, taking photos and video, and posting content to various platforms

Job Requirements/Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated commitment to social justice
  • Organizing and/or campaign experience
  • BA degree or relevant work experience, with a minimum of one-year experience working in communications
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the capacity to meaningfully engage with and frame issues for people of diverse backgrounds and life experiences
  • Proven ability to effectively manage a workload with competing priorities and deadline
  • Ability and willingness to travel and work occasional long or irregular hours during times of critical campaign need
  • Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
  • Experience with creative media production in one more of the following areas: web development, graphic design, photography, and/or video production/editing
  • Experience with Web-based services for mass email (e.g. Action Network, MailChimp, NationBuilder) and mass texting (e.g. EZ Texting, Hustle, Mobile Commons, etc) a plus
  • Experience with social media platforms and advertising on them a plus
  • Valid driver’s license

To apply for this position: please send your resume, cover letter explaining why you are interested in this job and how you are best suited to the position, along with a sample of your work t0 mtravis@unitehere.org.

Media Advisory: Contracted LNG Hospitality Workers to hold Press Conference (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 8:00AM)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UNITE HERE Local 40 to hold Press Conference and call on JGC Flour to deliver 12% wage increases to contracted LNG hospitality workers

WHAT: UNITE HERE Local 40 will hold a press conference next Wednesday, September 14, to urge JGC Flour to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers along the LNG project. JGC Flour recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation. They did not extend the same increases to contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees who are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.

Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge have signed a petition to JGC Flour demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them with the same increases that other LNG workers received. UNITE HERE Local 40 also sent a letter on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase. Sodexo workers make up the largest group of contracted hospitality workers on site.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 14, at 8:00 AM

 WHERE: Outside LNG site front gates (Kitimat, BC)

Media availability with UNITE HERE Local 40 representatives and contracted hospitality workers after the press conference.

For more information: contact Mike Biskar, (604) 862-5982, mbiskar@unitehere40.com, or Michelle Travis, (778) 960-9675, mtravis@unitehere.org.

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UNITE HERE Local 40 is the hospitality workers’ union and represents members in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org.

 

 

Vancouver City Councillor and Downtown Hotel Workers Call for Investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver

For Immediate Release:

VANCOUVER, BC – In a press conference yesterday, Vancouver City Councillor Christine Boyle and downtown hotel workers called for an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver’s mistreatment of staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group called for scrutiny into hotel management’s refusal to recall nearly 100 workers, primarily women of colour,  permanently laid-off during the pandemic or the approximately 90 on-call staff who have not worked since March 2020. Instead, the hotel has recently hired dozens of new workers.

Councillor Boyle and UNITE HERE Local 40 members from Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore, Pinnacle Harbourfront, and other downtown hotels demanded accountability on behalf of Pan Pacific Vancouver workers. They raised concerns over the hotel’s resistance to bringing back affected staff, particularly during a labour shortage, and whether the hotel’s owner respects workers’ right to have a union.

Councillor Boyle announced she will host a public event in September to hear from affected workers about their experience at Pan Pacific Vancouver.

Pan Pacific Vancouver workers voted to unionize in August 2020 over mass terminations. Since then, workers have faced management’s refusal to return long-term staff to their jobs, unfair labour practices, and delays in bargaining a first contract. A former concierge filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel over wrongful terminations last year; a BC Supreme Court judge has certified the lawsuit as a class action. Separately, the BC Labour Relations Board found that hotel management committed unfair labour practices and violated the Labour Code by refusing to recognize the inclusion of on-call workers in the bargaining unit.

The hotel is owned by Mississauga-based Westmont Hospitality Group, an international owner and operator of hotels.

Quotes:

Christine Boyle, Vancouver City Councillor: “As visitors return to Vancouver, we need to make sure hotel workers’ rights are respected. That’s why I’m standing with hotel workers out of concern for what is happening at Pan Pacific Vancouver. The stories I’ve heard are unconscionable, especially as it impacts low wage workers of colour.  There should be an investigation into how workers are being treated at this hotel. I believe strongly that the rights of workers must be upheld in the City of Vancouver.”

Stephanie Dan, former Pan Pacific Vancouver room attendant: “There are so many of us who haven’t been brought back since the pandemic hit.  We should be first in line to get our jobs back, but the hotel is hiring other people to do our jobs. I support an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver because I want justice for me and my-co-workers.”

Naden Abenes, Hyatt Regency room attendant: “What is happening at Pan Pacific? Why won’t they do what other downtown hotels have done and bring back workers who gave years of service to this hotel? Pan Pacific workers deserve what other Vancouver hotel workers have won – to have their jobs back and to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Matt de Marchi, Local 40 representative: “Workers are telling us, ‘They are hiring anybody – people with no hotel experience at all’, rather than bring back the former employees who voted for a union. Management is telling workers that they cannot find any staff, but they will not call back the people who used to work here.”

 

Contact: Michelle Travis, mtravis@unitehere.org, 778-960-9785

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Media Advisory: Vancouver City Councillor and Downtown Hotel Workers to hold Press Conference calling for Investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver’s Actions during Pandemic

For Immediate Release:

Press conference to be held outside Pan Pacific Vancouver, Thursday, July 28, 5PM

VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver’s hospitality workers are raising alarms about mistreatment of staff at Pan Pacific Vancouver.

Today, July 28 at 5:00pm, downtown hospitality workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, and Vancouver City Councillor Christine Boyle will hold a press conference to call for an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hotel terminated nearly 100 hotel workers, primarily women of colour, during the height of the public health crisis. They are among 200 people who management is refusing to bring back to their pre-pandemic jobs. In the meantime, the hotel is hiring dozens of new workers a month for positions throughout the hotel.

Pan Pacific Vancouver workers voted to unionize in August 2020 over mass terminations. Since then, workers have faced management’s refusal to return long-term staff to their jobs, unfair labour practices, and delays in bargaining a first contract.

Date:   Today — Thursday, July 28, 2022

Time: 5:00 PM

Where: In front of Pan Pacific Vancouver, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC.

Visuals: Dozens of hospitality workers and their supporters holding red and white signs.

Contact: Michelle Travis, mtravis@unitehere.org, 778-960-9785

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UNITE HERE Local 40 is the hospitality workers’ union and represents members in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org.