Contract Enforcement Organizer (Temporary/FT/PT)

UNITE HERE Local 40, BC’s union for hospitality workers, is seeking an entry-level or experienced Contract Enforcement Organizer to work with members on workplace issues. Organizers work with members 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.
– Experience in a unionized environment and with grievances preferred
–Willingness to learn advanced grievance procedure work including but not limited to arbitrations, union negotiations, and Labour Board proceedings.
– Valid driver’s license and own car preferred.
– Previous experience as an organizer in the student, immigrant, LGBT, or environmental movement is valued.

This is a temporary 3 to 6-month position with possible extensions beyond that. Full time and part time options are available.

To apply for the Organizer position, please email your resume and cover letter to Mike Biskar at mbiskar@unitehere40.com.

Communications Specialist – Vancouver

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
  • Ability and willingness to travel and work occasional long or irregular hours during times of critical campaign need
  • Proven ability to effectively manage a workload with competing priorities and deadlines
  • Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
  • Experience using Creative Suite, Action Network, MailChimp, Mobile Commons, Hustle and/or other communications software/platforms a plus
  • Driver’s license

To apply for this position: please email your resume, cover letter and a sample of your work (or a link to a website portfolio of your work) to mtravis@unitehere.org.

Campaign Researcher: Vancouver

UNITE HERE Local 40 is seeking a talented Campaign Researcher to conduct corporate and industry research and analysis to carry out campaigns focused on winning economic justice for BC’s hospitality workers. UNITE HERE Local 40 is B.C.’s hospitality workers’ union and is leading the fight to organize the unorganized and at the forefront of campaigns for workers’ rights and quality jobs. 

We represent thousands of hospitality workers working in hotels, foodservice, remote resource camps, airports, and other venues across the province. We have a diverse membership that includes workers from many immigrant communities, and the majority of our members are women. We are affiliated with UNITE HERE, a progressive labour union, representing 300,000 hospitality workers across North America. 

Responsibilities include:

  • Conduct company, industry and real estate research using a wide variety of databases and online sources, as well as field work.  
  • Develop company analyses and adapt them for various audiences (e.g., leadership & staff, workers, investors, political & regulatory bodies, the public)
  • Identify and analyze new development projects in our industries 
  • Communicate and build relationships with a wide variety of players including community organizations, industry representatives, customers, policy makers, and elected officials. 
  • Develop and carry out campaign strategies and tactics
  • Work with UNITE HERE members, organizers, staff, and elected leaders; assist in moving campaigns forward through organizing, leading actions, doing political work, as needed.

Qualifications include:

  • Passion for, and commitment to, fighting for workers’ rights 
  • BA degree and relevant research and/or activist experience (e.g., labour, political, urban planning, or community/campus)
  • Strong analytical skills, writing, computer, and interpersonal/organizing skills
  • Willingness to work long and sometimes irregular hours; some travel will be required.
  • Proficient with database and word processing software
  • Ability to learn quickly, work well on a team, and handle competing priorities with deadlines
  • Driver’s license

UNITE HERE Campaign Researchers have worked in the past as community and union organizers, journalists, urban planners, teachers, and researchers elsewhere.  

Location: Vancouver, BC
Position: Full-time
Contact: Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume with references, and a writing sample to mtravis@unitehere.org.  Resumes without a cover letter or writing sample will not be considered.