PRESS RELEASE: Federal Government Takeover of Pacific Gateway Hotel Threatens 150 Jobs

UNITE HERE Local 40

Press Release – November 25, 2020
Contact: Stephanie Fung, sfung@local40union.com, 604-928-7356

Federal Government Takeover of Pacific Gateway Hotel Threatens 150 Jobs

Vancouver, B.C. – Today, UNITE HERE Local 40 held a press conference and called on the federal government to prevent 150 workers from losing their jobs at the Pacific Gateway Hotel, currently being used as a quarantine site.  Hotel workers displaced by the takeover said they could be permanently terminated as early as January unless the government acts.

The federal government took over the hotel as a quarantine site near Vancouver International Airport and brought in the Red Cross to perform duties typically performed by the workers.  As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the government’s contract has been repeatedly extended. Hotel management has said this is an involuntary seizure with no clear end date.  Yet, laid off Pacific Gateway workers could be permanently terminated as soon as January, when workers’ recall provisions in their collective bargaining agreement begin to expire.

“I have worked as a room attendant at Pacific Gateway Hotel for 45 years,” said Gangamma Naidu, a laid off room attendant.  The government took over my hotel and people hired by the Red Cross were trained to do my job. I worked all my life for this hotel and don’t deserve to be treated like this. Why isn’t the government protecting our jobs?”

The Trudeau government has urged employers to keep workers attached to their jobs.  Yet, their actions threaten the future of 150 long-term workers – most of them women and immigrants from the South Asian and Chinese communities. Many of them have served the hotel for decades.

“We understand that the hotel needs to be used to quarantine travellers,” said Treva Martell, a laid-off server who has worked at the hotel for 15 years. “But some of us could lose our jobs permanently starting in January. We’ve asked for 24 months to return to our jobs. We just want to know we can be recalled to our jobs, no matter how long the pandemic lasts.  Our federal leaders and the Pacific Gateway need to guarantee we’ll have jobs to return to when the pandemic is over,” said Martell.

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UNITE HERE Local 40 is a labour union representing workers in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Local 40 is affiliated with UNITE HERE Canada.  Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org. 

Media Advisory: Impacted by Quarantine Act, Displaced Hotel Workers ask Federal Government: Why Are You Taking Away Our Jobs?

Media Advisory for Video Press Conference – Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 11AM PT/ 2PM ET
Contact: Stephanie Fung, sfung@local40union.com , 604-928-7356
Click here to register in advance

WHAT: UNITE HERE Local 40 will host a video press conference with laid-off workers who could permanently lose their jobs because of the federal takeover of the Pacific Gateway Hotel, currently being used as a quarantine site.  The workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40.

WHEN: Wednesday, November 25 at 11AM Pacific Time / 2PM Eastern Time

WHO: 

  • UNITE HERE Local 40 hotel members from Pacific Gateway Hotel
  • Robert Demand, UNITE HERE Local 40 Executive Director

WHERE: Zoom; RSVP here for conference information:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GWY7dL_sT-Cjx_YyMKANMg

WHY:  The Trudeau government is urging employers to keep their workforce intact – yet the federal takeover of the Pacific Gateway Hotel, located near Vancouver International Airport, could put the jobs of 150 workers at risk. The federal government took over the hotel as a quarantine site in April and brought in the Red Cross to perform duties typically performed by hotel workers.  As COVID-19 cases rise, there is no end in sight to the federal takeover of the hotel.  Yet, the government has not acknowledged the impact of displacing long-term Pacific Gateway workers, most of whom are women and immigrants, who may begin to permanently lose their jobs in January.

UNITE HERE Local 40 is a labour union representing workers in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org.

Job Posting: UNITE HERE Local 40 Organizer

UNITE HERE Local 40, BC’s union for hospitality workers, is seeking an entry-level or experienced organizer to work locally on aggressive campaigns. Organizers work with members and unorganized workers to build the leadership and solidarity necessary to build a progressive and strong labour union.

UNITE HERE is a progressive labour union, representing more than 270,000 workers in the hotel and food service industries across North America. These industries employ large numbers of women, recent immigrants and people of colour. For more information on UNITE HERE, please visit www.unitehere.org


Innovative organizing campaigns, deep rank-and-file member engagement and leadership development, as well as our strong training program make UNITE HERE an exciting place to create change and build power with workers in the service industry.

UNITE HERE’s goal is to not only organize non-union workers and win campaigns, but also to train effective progressive labour leaders and organizers who can develop creative and strategic campaigns to change the economic balance of power in North America.

Job Requirements:
– Commitment to fight for justice and organize the unorganized.
– Commitment to rank and file leadership development
.
– Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to move workers to take collective action and build power.
– Ability to carry out goals and meet timelines while demonstrating a high level of proven leadership and independent judgment within the context of an overall plan and structure;
– Bilingual desired (Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, or Punjabi)
.
– Willingness to work long hours, nights and weekends
.
– Valid driver’s license and own car
.
– Previous experience as an organizer in the student, immigrant, LGBT, or environmental movement is valued.

To apply for the Organizer position, please email your resume and cover letter to Mike Biskar at mbiskar@local40union.com.

Job Posting: UNITE HERE Local 40 Political/Community Campaign Organizer

UNITE HERE Local 40 is seeking a political/community campaign organizer to support organizing and collective bargaining campaigns. This Organizer will lead solidarity-building efforts in support of these campaigns, represent the union in coalition and political initiatives, and assist with other aspects of the union’s programs.

This position will also include conducting industry, corporate, real estate and political research and analysis to develop and carry out campaigns focused on winning economic justice for low wage, primarily migrant hospitality workers. Our campaigns organize non-union workers and secure improved standards for existing union members in the hotel and food service industries.

Job responsibilities will include:

  • Assist workers and staff in all aspects of organizing and contract campaigns.
  • Build relationships and communicate with elected officials, community organizations, and others.
  • Train rank and file workers to lead meetings with community organizations.
  • Organize demonstrations and actions in support of union campaigns.
  • Represent Local 40 in labor councils and other coalitions.
  • Communicate and build relationships with a wide variety of players including community organizations, other labour unions, company officials, hotel customers, government staff and elected leaders
  • Develop and carry out campaign strategies and tactics
  • Work with UNITE HERE members, organizers, regional staff and elected leaders; assist in moving campaigns forward through organizing, leading actions, doing political work, as needed.
  • Research companies using a wide variety of sources, including published databases, on-line and Internet sources
  • Conduct local and field research on companies, industries and/or real estate development projects
  • Develop company analyses and adapt them for various audiences (e.g. leadership & staff, workers, stockholders, political & regulatory bodies, the public)

Desired Qualifications include:

  • Significant experience in community organizing, particularly in relation to labor issues;
  • Passion for, and commitment to, fighting for workers’ rights
  • Ability to work effectively with organizers and regional leaders required;
  • Ability to work under pressure, including long hours and weekends as needed;
  • Strong analytical, writing, computer and interpersonal/organizing skills
  • University degree or relevant research and/or activist experience (labour, political, urban planning, or community/campus.
  • Travel as needed;
  • Familiarity with database and word processing software
  • Reliable car and driver’s license (Optional though preferred)

Current UNITE HERE political/community campaigners have worked in the past as community and union organizers, urban planners, journalists, teachers, and researchers.

If interested, please email your resume and cover letter to Mike Biskar at mbiskar@local40union.com by Dec. 11, 2020. Women, LGBTQ, and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Salary is commensurate with experience. Positions include health and retirement benefits.

Press Release: UNITE HERE urges federal government to “Put Workers First” in bailouts of hospitality, aviation sectors

Contacts:
Melissa Sobers, msobers@unitehere.org, (416) 200-0207 (Toronto & Ottawa)
Stephanie Fung, sfung@local40union.com, (604) 928-7356 (Vancouver)

UNITE HERE urges federal government to “Put Workers First” in bailouts  of hospitality, aviation sectors

Vancouver – Today, hospitality workers held rallies in hard-hit tourism markets – Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa – and called on the Trudeau government to condition any industry bailouts of the hospitality and aviation sectors on provisions to preserve workers’ jobs.  The government’s recent Throne Speech committed to providing support for the hard-hit tourism, hospitality, and aviation sectors.

UNITE HERE! Canada is urging the government to condition targeted sectoral bailouts on employers’ full participation in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to cover their active and furloughed workers; assurances that laid-off workers have a right to return to their jobs for up to 24 months; and worker retention to secure the jobs of contracted workers in Canada’s airports.  Few hospitality employers are using CEWS to cover furloughed workers as the program was intended. Without protections, most laid-off workers will not have a right to return to their jobs once the industry recovers.

Workers demonstrated outside the Hyatt Regency Vancouver and the St. Regis Toronto, while Ottawa Marriott workers held a virtual rally.  The hotels are owned by InnVest, Canada’s largest hotel owner.  InnVest CEO Lydia Chen sits on board of Hotel Association of Canada which is lobbying for bailout relief alongside airline and airport industry associations.

Heavily indebted hotel owners like InnVest stand to benefit from industry bailouts while thousands of workers face permanent layoffs. If past economic shocks are any guide, financial supports will help hotel investors and corporate interests pay their lenders but will not help laid-off workers remain attached to their jobs.  Many of Canada’s hospitality and aviation sector workers have been laid-off since March and have not been recalled to their jobs.  Industry experts suggest recovery of travel and tourism sectors may not begin in earnest until 2022 or later.

Randy Yadao, Laid-off Laundry Houseperson, Ottawa Marriott Hotel:

“My wife and I work in the hotel industry. It’s been hard for both of us to support our daughters and our family needs. Since being laid off we’re trying to save the best we can but without a job, I don’t know if we can still support our daughters’ dreams and give them a good education. It’s not our fault what’s happening right now. We work hard. I hope the government will make sure workers are recalled and tie bailouts to the wage subsidy.”

Leonora Mulholland, Laid-off room attendant, Fairmont Royal York (Toronto):

“I’ve worked at this hotel for 21 years. I cannot lose my job. This is about job security, knowing that I’ll have something to go back to after this pandemic passes and having my medical benefits contributions restored.  I rely on many types of medication to survive and to support my special needs son, I can’t do this without some sense of security. The federal government must keep their promise to workers. We’ve given so much to this hotel, to this city, and to this entire economy. Will they leave us behind?”

Naden Abenes, Laid-off room attendant, Hyatt Regency Vancouver:

“We have invested years of hard work to make this hotel successful.  We are always there for Hyatt and InnVest when they need us.  Now that times are hard, they won’t put us on the wage subsidy program and are refusing to give us 24 months to return to our jobs.  If we had recall protections or the wage subsidy, we would have some security.  These hotel companies shouldn’t get government bailout money if they won’t help us keep our jobs.”

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UNITE HERE! Canada represents over 18,000 workers across the nation who work in the hotel, food service, airport, and gaming sectors.