Archive for category: News

Media Advisory: Protest to be held at Shangri-La Hotel; Laid-off Workers Say No Bailout for Tourism Sector without Job Protection!

Vancouver, B.C.— Today, hotel workers plan to protest mass terminations at the luxury Shangri-La Hotel and demand laid-off workers need the legal right to return to their jobs as business recovers. While the provincial government considers whether to grant the tourism industry a $680 million bailout, laid-off hospitality workers across B.C. are being fired because they lack legal protection to eventually return to their jobs. Over 50,000 B.C. hospitality workers were laid off in March due to the pandemic, but the province has yet to enact measures that compel hotel owners – like Ian Gillespie’s Westbank and Peterson Investments – to keep their workforce intact.

WHO:         Hotel workers, community allies from across the Lower Mainland.

WHERE:     1128 W Georgia Street, Vancouver BC

WHEN:       Tuesday, July 28, 12 p.m.*

VISUALS:  Hospitality workers wearing masks standing 2 metres apart, chanting and speaking with colourful banners, signs, and bullhorns.

*Media availability with UNITE HERE Local 40 president Zailda Chan and non-union hotel workers (English and Cantonese speakers available).

For additional information, please contact:
Stephanie Fung, 604-928-7356, [email protected]

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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.

 

Tell your MP: Adopt the 3 Essentials for Hospitality Workers Now!

Press Advisory: Statement by UNITE HERE Local 40 President re: BC tourism sector’s request for $680 million government bailout

Press Advisory

July 21, 2020

Media Contacts: Michelle Travis, 778-960-9785, [email protected];
or Stephanie Fung, 604-928-7356, [email protected]

Vancouver, BC – Statement by Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40:

“If BC’s tourism sector wants an extraordinary $680 million relief package from the province, then 50,000 laid-off hotel workers need a legal right to return to their jobs as hotels reopen.There is no doubt the industry and its workers have been hard-hit, but we are watching major hotel employers use the pandemic as an excuse to fire laid-off workers and undercut labour standards.Any future emergency grants or property tax relief to the sector needs to put workers first.No industry should be getting government relief without a guarantee that laid-off workers have the legal right to return to their jobs as businesses recover.”

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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.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR NATIONAL TELEPRESS CONFERENCE for Thursday, July 16 (9amPT/Noon ET)

Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 12pET/9aPT
Contact: Meghan Cohorst, [email protected], 239-503-1533

Click here to register in advance

Hospitality workers union UNITE HERE Canada to detail state of Canadian hospitality industry, call for implementation of essential recommendations for a safe and successful return to work

UNITE HERE Canada will host a video press conference on state of Canadian hospitality and steps necessary to ensure a safe and successful return to work. Union members and leadership will share their personal experiences, concerns about upcoming changes to CEWS and CERB, and recommendations, including a perspective on lessons to be learned from reopening experience in the U.S.

WHEN: Thursday, July 16 at 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT

WHERE:  Register for access information here:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GMcMjMhIRbmOwtBjdJ8aVQ

WHO: 

  • UNITE HERE members working in the hotel industry in British Columbia and Ontario
  • Ian Robb, UNITE HERE Canadian Director
  • Nia Winston, UNITE HERE Local 24 President, Detroit, MI USA

WHY:  Canadian hospitality workers—including more than 18,000 represented by the six UNITE HERE locals in British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta —were among the first and hardest hit by the economic impact of COVID-19. Over 90% of hospitality workers in the country’s hotels, airports, stadiums, universities, schools, and remote resource camps have been laid off since March.

Analysts predict that the industry may not fully recover until Summer 2022, leading to fewer available jobs, extended periods of unemployment, and uncertainty for tens of thousands of Canadian workers and their families. Putting workers at the center of the recovery is key for preventing a second wave of COVID-19 in Canada and for restoring confidence in their return to work.

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UNITE HERE is a labour union that represents over 300,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in North America. UNITE HERE represents over 18,000 hotel and hospitality workers across six locals in Canada.

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Meghan Cohorst

UNITE HERE

239-503-1533

[email protected]

 

Statement by Zailda Chan, UNITE HERE Local 40 President, regarding B.C.’s extension of temporary COVID-19 layoff provisions

“We are incredibly disappointed by the Government’s decision today to extend temporary layoffs and delay severance to help the business community without any protections for workers.  The government had to put 50,000 hotel workers out of work, but with no legal rights to get their jobs back.  Hotel workers are already being permanently terminated as a result of this pandemic.  A wave of terminations may come in September. This decision falls far short of what laid-off workers need to stay connected to their jobs.  The B.C. government needs to act and protect workers – not just businesses.”