HMS Host workers at YVR ratify new contract by 98%

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doc_15HMS Host workers at YVR overwhelmingly ratified a new union contract today by a vote of 98%. The Host workers won job security improvements in all units, a pathway for Milestones workers to transfer to the new White Spot restaurant, layoff and recall rights, significant wage gains, increased pension contributions and better union access at YVR.

Fipe Wong, a 13-year cook in Palominos, said, “I think we made history at the airport. At the end of the day, its not about the money. Its about the union and being united.”

After a one-day strike and a 6-day lockout, both HMS Host and union members engaged in tough bargaining, made necessary compromises and came away with an agreement in time for the Vancouver Airport’s busiest day ever, March 1.

Local 40 salutes the courage of the Host workers.

UNITE HERE’s Cleve Jones named Grand Marshal of 2009 Vancouver Pride Parade

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doc_7Cleve Jones, leader of UNITE HERE’s Sleep with the Right People campaign, is back in Vancouver for this year’s Pride Parade on August 2. Cleve is a Grand Marshal of the 2009 Pride Parade in honour of his decades of activism and leadership in the LGBT community. Cleve got his start as a young activist working with the legendary gay rights leader, Harvey Milk, in San Francisco. In the 2008 Academy-award winning film, Milk, Cleve is portrayed as young man working closely with Milk. Cleve co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and created the idea for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, now the world’s largest piece of folk art. The Quilt memorializes 85,000 people killed by AIDS and currently weighs 54 tonnes.

Cleve currently leads UNITE HERE’s Sleep with the Right People campaign (sleepwiththerightpeople.org), a powerful alliance between the LGBT community and UNITE HERE, dedicated to fighting for the fair and equal treatment of all individuals.

Come join Local 40 members marching with Cleve in this year’s Pride Parade!

GM Place Contract Victory

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doc_6The Local 40 organizing committee at GM Place left the bargaining table victorious in the early morning hours of March 20, 2009. GM Place workers won significant wage increases, real job security–including during the 2010 Olympics when GM Place becomes Hockey Place–more money for dental and a path toward future medical improvements. But most of all, they won real respect from the company. The key respect issue was expanding the women’s locker room at GM Place. Now, hundreds of women can change with dignity instead of squeezing like sardines into a cramped room.

The victory took months of organizing, bargaining without a contract, and an action plan: delegations to management, rallies and finally a one-day strike. But according to workers it came down to one important thing: the Committee. Leaders from every department joined the Organizing Committee to lead their co-workers through the fight. Brad McLean, a catering server for 13 years and shop steward, said one of the most powerful moments was a delegation to the general manager. “The first time, there was a only a few of us, ” he said, referring to an early delegation the group organized, “but then when you turn around and you realize there are 200 of your co-workers behind you, it feels good!”

Evelyn Cabangbang, a cashier for 10 years, knows how far GM Place workers have come. “Two years ago, they thought I was crazy for getting involved, but now they see, they respect what I did…It all comes down to unity. Don’t be afraid to stand up and fight. Just do it!”