Archive for category: News

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].

Hospitality workers at Cedar Valley Lodge in Kitimat win up to 40% pay increases, avert strike at LNG Canada construction site

Kitimat, BC – On July 22, Sodexo hospitality workers at Cedar Valley Lodge voted 100% in favour to ratify their new collective agreement, securing significant wage gains and averting a strike at the LNG Canada construction site. Workers have bargained a new wage standard for British Columbia camp workers; most Cedar Valley Lodge staff will receive a 30-40% increase in compensation over the 1-year contract. Lodge workers will receive immediate wage increases of $5 per hour, with maintenance staff at the property receiving an immediate 10% pay increase.

Under the new agreement workers have won increases in vacation pay, significant medical benefit improvements, and established a retirement plan as well as workload protections for kitchen, janitor, and housekeeping positions. Lodge staff have also won an unprecedented remote hospitality worker premium. The new contract was reached following mediation with the employer at the BC Labour Board.

“I’m very proud that Cedar Valley Lodge workers have won the contract they needed. I believe this groundbreaking new agreement sends a strong message to camp workers across the province that when workers stand up for themselves, they win! Hospitality workers will not be overlooked or disrespected, and their work should be valued,” said Zailda Chan, UNITE HERE Local 40 President.

Cedar Valley Lodge accommodates up to 5,000 LNG camp workers involved in the pipeline project. The 450 Lodge workers – including housekeepers, kitchen staff, janitors, guest service agents and maintenance staff – unionized with UNITE HERE Local 40 and IBEW Local 993 on April 12. The workers voted 97% in favour of strike action on July 7, concerned with the rising cost of living in British Columbia. Sodexo Cedar Valley Lodge hospitality workers were the lowest compensated workers at the LNG Canada construction site. BC Building Trades members at the site expressed support for the Lodge workers.

“We at Cedar Valley Lodge have been fighting for three long years to be treated fairly. With this amazing contract I feel we have finally won respect, and something that represents us as industry professionals. We won a fair wage increase, improved benefits, but most importantly we are proud to be unionized with Local 40. This victory has changed my life and the lives of my coworkers. We’ve gone from tears of fear to tears of joy!” said Larry Samaroo, a Second Cook who has worked at the Lodge for three years.

 

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

BREAKING: Workers at Three High-end Downtown Hotels Vote in Favour of Strike Action

Amid Vancouver’s affordability crisis, over 1000 workers from Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore and Pinnacle Harbourfront could walk off the job this summer

 

Vancouver, BC – Downtown hospitality workers at the Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore and Pinnacle Harbourfront hotels have voted in favour of strike action, concerned about job security and the cost of living in Vancouver. The workers – including room attendants, front desk agents, kitchen staff, servers, and bellman represented by UNITE HERE Local 40 – stand resolute against increased precarity in the hotel sector. The strike votes concluded on Monday evening.

The exorbitant cost of living in Vancouver is making it harder for hospitality workers to live in the city to which they welcome tourists. In a recent survey of local hotel workers conducted by the union, 89% of hotel workers surveyed said they have had to give something up to afford their cost of living, such as family support or medical procedures. 46% of respondents have had to forgo fresh food to keep up with the rising cost of living in Metro Vancouver. Alongside substantial wage increases, the workers are asking for job security as they face the looming threat of hotel redevelopment to luxury housing.

Meanwhile, business for downtown hotels is booming this summer. Vancouver has the highest hotel occupancy and highest average daily room rates across major Canadian markets. In May, the average room rate in downtown Vancouver was $332 per night, while revenue per available room was up 22.5% over the same period last year, according to CBRE.

“Our hotels are packed this summer and are charging customers more than ever, but we aren’t getting our fair share. We want to earn enough to live in the city where we work. We struggled during the pandemic, while the hotel industry received billions in government help. Now our hotels are doing great, but we’re still left behind. Hospitality workers deserve a future in this city if Vancouver expects to have a vibrant tourism sector,” said Naden Abenes, a Room Attendant at Hyatt Regency for 15 years.

Picket lines could go up at the three hotels after the workers issue strike notice.

Downtown hotel workers including those from Hyatt, Westin and Pinnacle launched a major strike in 2019, winning a new standard in wages and working conditions, including groundbreaking safety and sexual harassment protections in the hospitality industry. UNITE HERE Local 40 also represents hospitality workers currently on strike at Sheraton Vancouver Airport and Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport in Richmond.

 

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