Vancouver, B.C. – UNITE HERE Local 40 members who work for Gate Gourmet at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have voted 94% “yes” to ratify a new collective agreement that will significantly raise airline catering workers’ pay. The company agreed to provide 12% wage increases to workers in Vancouver to address skyrocketing inflation. The wage boost will also make these among the best paying airline catering jobs at YVR Airport.
Nearly 300 Gate Gourmet workers who prepare and deliver meals to Air Canada and other major airlines are covered by the new three-year agreement. Workers have held escalating job actions, including rallies and an overtime ban, to press the global catering company over low-pay and staffing challenges. Last month, the B.C. Labour Board issued a cease-and-desist order against Gate Gourmet for using replacement workers during a strike action.
Under the new collective agreement, most workers will be earning approximately $25 an hour or more by next summer, which sets a new standard for airport catering workers at YVR.
“We’re proud of what we achieved during this round of bargaining. Gate Gourmet workers united together to win a contract that allows us to keep up with rising inflation and to make these truly living wage jobs,” said Rolando Gonzalez, a team lead in the kitchen department and bargaining committee member.
The new agreement also secures improvements in health care benefits, improved seniority rights for long-term workers, a quicker path to top wage rates and an increased shoe allowance. The new agreement is in place through July 31, 2025.
For more information, contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
Vancouver, BC —- Air Canada’s airline catering firm, Gate Gourmet, breached BC’s labour code when the company used replacement workers during a strike action at Vancouver Airport, according to a new ruling by the BC Labour Board. The company double-catered flights for Air Canada at other airports after Gate Gourmet YVR workers launched an overtime ban in protest over wages and working conditions. The workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40.
The Vice-Chair of the Labour Relations Board ordered a cease and desist after finding that Gate Gourmet breached Section 68 of the provincial labour code which prohibits use of impermissible replacement workers to perform struck work. Gate Gourmet Canada Inc. had its employees at airports in Alberta and Ontario double-cater flights for Air Canada that would otherwise have been catered out of Vancouver Airport, by striking employees.
The Board found that it was a breach of Section 68 of the Code for Gate Gourmet kitchens outside of BC to double-cater struck work. Going forward during future strike activity, Gate Gourmet cannot respond by double-catering out of other kitchens.
Air Canada’s contracted catering workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the airline industry and have been negotiating for increases that would allow them to keep up with the skyrocketing inflation and rising cost of living.
“This order sends a strong message to Gate Gourmet that they cannot get away with undermining BC’s labor laws. Airline catering staff are prepared to take further action until the company addresses workers’ concerns over cost of living increases and staffing issues,” said Mike Biskar, union negotiator.
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.
http://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.png00Michelle Travishttp://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.pngMichelle Travis2022-10-14 10:58:352022-10-14 10:59:08Press Release: Labour Board orders cease and desist against Air Canada’s caterer at YVR Airport for violating striking workers’ rights
Vancouver, BC — Contracted LNG camp workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, held a press conference this morning calling on LNG Canada and JGC Fluor to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site. JGC Fluor recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation but did not extend the same increases to hospitality workers. Contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.
Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge recently delivered a petition to JGC Fluor demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them the same increases that other LNG workers received. JGC Fluor is the prime contractor for LNG Canada.
Other workers left out of 12% wage increases include Sodexo camp workers, the largest group of contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site. UNITE HERE Local 40 sent a letterto JGC Fluor on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase.
Neither JGC Fluor or LNG Canada have responded to the workers’ petition or the letter.
“Why are we being treated like we’re second class? We’ve played a critical role during the pandemic making sure the LNG plant runs smoothly and protecting people’s health and safety. LNG Canada/JGC Fluor seems to recognize that workers facing rapid inflation are struggling to support their families but have forgotten those of us who live paycheque to paycheque,” said Bonnie Julien, a contracted janitor at the LNG site.
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.
http://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.png00Michelle Travishttp://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.pngMichelle Travis2022-09-14 10:04:162022-09-22 10:42:41Press Release: More LNG camp workers calling on LNG Canada to deliver 12% wage increases
UNITE HERE Local 40 to hold Press Conference and call on JGC Flour to deliver 12% wage increases to contracted LNG hospitality workers
WHAT: UNITE HERE Local 40 will hold a press conference next Wednesday, September 14, to urge JGC Flour to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers along the LNG project. JGC Flour recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation. They did not extend the same increases to contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees who are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.
Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge have signed a petition to JGC Flour demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them with the same increases that other LNG workers received. UNITE HERE Local 40 also sent a letter on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase. Sodexo workers make up the largest group of contracted hospitality workers on site.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 14, at 8:00 AM
WHERE: Outside LNG site front gates (Kitimat, BC)
Media availability with UNITE HERE Local 40 representatives and contracted hospitality workers after the press conference.
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.
http://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.png00Michelle Travishttp://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.pngMichelle Travis2022-09-09 16:19:292022-09-09 16:19:29Media Advisory: Contracted LNG Hospitality Workers to hold Press Conference (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 8:00AM)
VANCOUVER, BC – In a press conference yesterday, Vancouver City Councillor Christine Boyle and downtown hotel workers called for an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver’s mistreatment of staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group called for scrutiny into hotel management’s refusal to recall nearly 100 workers, primarily women of colour, permanently laid-off during the pandemic or the approximately 90 on-call staff who have not worked since March 2020. Instead, the hotel has recently hired dozens of new workers.
Councillor Boyle and UNITE HERE Local 40 members from Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore, Pinnacle Harbourfront, and other downtown hotels demanded accountability on behalf of Pan Pacific Vancouver workers. They raised concerns over the hotel’s resistance to bringing back affected staff, particularly during a labour shortage, and whether the hotel’s owner respects workers’ right to have a union.
Councillor Boyle announced she will host a public event in September to hear from affected workers about their experience at Pan Pacific Vancouver.
Pan Pacific Vancouver workers voted to unionize in August 2020 over mass terminations. Since then, workers have faced management’s refusal to return long-term staff to their jobs, unfair labour practices, and delays in bargaining a first contract. A former concierge filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel over wrongful terminations last year; a BC Supreme Court judge has certified the lawsuit as a class action. Separately, the BC Labour Relations Board found that hotel management committed unfair labour practices and violated the Labour Code by refusing to recognize the inclusion of on-call workers in the bargaining unit.
The hotel is owned by Mississauga-based Westmont Hospitality Group, an international owner and operator of hotels.
Quotes:
Christine Boyle, Vancouver City Councillor: “As visitors return to Vancouver, we need to make sure hotel workers’ rights are respected. That’s why I’m standing with hotel workers out of concern for what is happening at Pan Pacific Vancouver. The stories I’ve heard are unconscionable, especially as it impacts low wage workers of colour. There should be an investigation into how workers are being treated at this hotel. I believe strongly that the rights of workers must be upheld in the City of Vancouver.”
Stephanie Dan, former Pan Pacific Vancouver room attendant: “There are so many of us who haven’t been brought back since the pandemic hit. We should be first in line to get our jobs back, but the hotel is hiring other people to do our jobs. I support an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver because I want justice for me and my-co-workers.”
Naden Abenes, Hyatt Regency room attendant: “What is happening at Pan Pacific? Why won’t they do what other downtown hotels have done and bring back workers who gave years of service to this hotel? Pan Pacific workers deserve what other Vancouver hotel workers have won – to have their jobs back and to be treated with dignity and respect.”
Matt de Marchi, Local 40 representative: “Workers are telling us, ‘They are hiring anybody – people with no hotel experience at all’, rather than bring back the former employees who voted for a union. Management is telling workers that they cannot find any staff, but they will not call back the people who used to work here.”
http://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.png00Michelle Travishttp://www.uniteherelocal40.org/wp-content/uploads/local40logo-300x155.pngMichelle Travis2022-07-29 09:39:102022-07-29 09:39:10Vancouver City Councillor and Downtown Hotel Workers Call for Investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver
Press Release: YVR Airline Catering Workers Ratify Contract with Historic Wage Increases
For Immediate Release
Vancouver, B.C. – UNITE HERE Local 40 members who work for Gate Gourmet at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have voted 94% “yes” to ratify a new collective agreement that will significantly raise airline catering workers’ pay. The company agreed to provide 12% wage increases to workers in Vancouver to address skyrocketing inflation. The wage boost will also make these among the best paying airline catering jobs at YVR Airport.
Nearly 300 Gate Gourmet workers who prepare and deliver meals to Air Canada and other major airlines are covered by the new three-year agreement. Workers have held escalating job actions, including rallies and an overtime ban, to press the global catering company over low-pay and staffing challenges. Last month, the B.C. Labour Board issued a cease-and-desist order against Gate Gourmet for using replacement workers during a strike action.
Under the new collective agreement, most workers will be earning approximately $25 an hour or more by next summer, which sets a new standard for airport catering workers at YVR.
“We’re proud of what we achieved during this round of bargaining. Gate Gourmet workers united together to win a contract that allows us to keep up with rising inflation and to make these truly living wage jobs,” said Rolando Gonzalez, a team lead in the kitchen department and bargaining committee member.
The new agreement also secures improvements in health care benefits, improved seniority rights for long-term workers, a quicker path to top wage rates and an increased shoe allowance. The new agreement is in place through July 31, 2025.
For more information, contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
###
Press Release: Labour Board orders cease and desist against Air Canada’s caterer at YVR Airport for violating striking workers’ rights
For Immediate Release
Vancouver, BC —- Air Canada’s airline catering firm, Gate Gourmet, breached BC’s labour code when the company used replacement workers during a strike action at Vancouver Airport, according to a new ruling by the BC Labour Board. The company double-catered flights for Air Canada at other airports after Gate Gourmet YVR workers launched an overtime ban in protest over wages and working conditions. The workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 40.
The Vice-Chair of the Labour Relations Board ordered a cease and desist after finding that Gate Gourmet breached Section 68 of the provincial labour code which prohibits use of impermissible replacement workers to perform struck work. Gate Gourmet Canada Inc. had its employees at airports in Alberta and Ontario double-cater flights for Air Canada that would otherwise have been catered out of Vancouver Airport, by striking employees.
The Board found that it was a breach of Section 68 of the Code for Gate Gourmet kitchens outside of BC to double-cater struck work. Going forward during future strike activity, Gate Gourmet cannot respond by double-catering out of other kitchens.
Air Canada’s contracted catering workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the airline industry and have been negotiating for increases that would allow them to keep up with the skyrocketing inflation and rising cost of living.
“This order sends a strong message to Gate Gourmet that they cannot get away with undermining BC’s labor laws. Airline catering staff are prepared to take further action until the company addresses workers’ concerns over cost of living increases and staffing issues,” said Mike Biskar, union negotiator.
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
###
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.
Press Release: More LNG camp workers calling on LNG Canada to deliver 12% wage increases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Vancouver, BC — Contracted LNG camp workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, held a press conference this morning calling on LNG Canada and JGC Fluor to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site. JGC Fluor recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation but did not extend the same increases to hospitality workers. Contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.
Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge recently delivered a petition to JGC Fluor demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them the same increases that other LNG workers received. JGC Fluor is the prime contractor for LNG Canada.
Other workers left out of 12% wage increases include Sodexo camp workers, the largest group of contracted hospitality workers at the LNG site. UNITE HERE Local 40 sent a letter to JGC Fluor on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase.
Neither JGC Fluor or LNG Canada have responded to the workers’ petition or the letter.
“Why are we being treated like we’re second class? We’ve played a critical role during the pandemic making sure the LNG plant runs smoothly and protecting people’s health and safety. LNG Canada/JGC Fluor seems to recognize that workers facing rapid inflation are struggling to support their families but have forgotten those of us who live paycheque to paycheque,” said Bonnie Julien, a contracted janitor at the LNG site.
For more information: contact Mike Biskar, (604) 862-5982, [email protected], or Michelle Travis, (778) 960-9675, [email protected].
###
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: Contracted LNG Hospitality Workers to hold Press Conference (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 8:00AM)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UNITE HERE Local 40 to hold Press Conference and call on JGC Flour to deliver 12% wage increases to contracted LNG hospitality workers
WHAT: UNITE HERE Local 40 will hold a press conference next Wednesday, September 14, to urge JGC Flour to increase wages for contracted hospitality workers along the LNG project. JGC Flour recently provided 12% increases to the BC Building Trades to address the skyrocketing cost of living and inflation. They did not extend the same increases to contracted janitors, housekeepers, front desk, and culinary employees who are among the lowest paid workers along the LNG pipeline.
Hundreds of workers from Sitka Lodge, Horizon North Dexterra at LNG, and at Crossroads Lodge have signed a petition to JGC Flour demanding the company behind the multi-billion dollar project provide them with the same increases that other LNG workers received. UNITE HERE Local 40 also sent a letter on behalf of Sodexo workers at Cedar Valley Lodge requesting the same increase. Sodexo workers make up the largest group of contracted hospitality workers on site.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 14, at 8:00 AM
WHERE: Outside LNG site front gates (Kitimat, BC)
Media availability with UNITE HERE Local 40 representatives and contracted hospitality workers after the press conference.
For more information: contact Mike Biskar, (604) 862-5982, [email protected], or Michelle Travis, (778) 960-9675, [email protected].
###
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.
Vancouver City Councillor and Downtown Hotel Workers Call for Investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver
For Immediate Release:
VANCOUVER, BC – In a press conference yesterday, Vancouver City Councillor Christine Boyle and downtown hotel workers called for an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver’s mistreatment of staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group called for scrutiny into hotel management’s refusal to recall nearly 100 workers, primarily women of colour, permanently laid-off during the pandemic or the approximately 90 on-call staff who have not worked since March 2020. Instead, the hotel has recently hired dozens of new workers.
Councillor Boyle and UNITE HERE Local 40 members from Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore, Pinnacle Harbourfront, and other downtown hotels demanded accountability on behalf of Pan Pacific Vancouver workers. They raised concerns over the hotel’s resistance to bringing back affected staff, particularly during a labour shortage, and whether the hotel’s owner respects workers’ right to have a union.
Councillor Boyle announced she will host a public event in September to hear from affected workers about their experience at Pan Pacific Vancouver.
Pan Pacific Vancouver workers voted to unionize in August 2020 over mass terminations. Since then, workers have faced management’s refusal to return long-term staff to their jobs, unfair labour practices, and delays in bargaining a first contract. A former concierge filed a class action lawsuit against the hotel over wrongful terminations last year; a BC Supreme Court judge has certified the lawsuit as a class action. Separately, the BC Labour Relations Board found that hotel management committed unfair labour practices and violated the Labour Code by refusing to recognize the inclusion of on-call workers in the bargaining unit.
The hotel is owned by Mississauga-based Westmont Hospitality Group, an international owner and operator of hotels.
Quotes:
Christine Boyle, Vancouver City Councillor: “As visitors return to Vancouver, we need to make sure hotel workers’ rights are respected. That’s why I’m standing with hotel workers out of concern for what is happening at Pan Pacific Vancouver. The stories I’ve heard are unconscionable, especially as it impacts low wage workers of colour. There should be an investigation into how workers are being treated at this hotel. I believe strongly that the rights of workers must be upheld in the City of Vancouver.”
Stephanie Dan, former Pan Pacific Vancouver room attendant: “There are so many of us who haven’t been brought back since the pandemic hit. We should be first in line to get our jobs back, but the hotel is hiring other people to do our jobs. I support an investigation into Pan Pacific Vancouver because I want justice for me and my-co-workers.”
Naden Abenes, Hyatt Regency room attendant: “What is happening at Pan Pacific? Why won’t they do what other downtown hotels have done and bring back workers who gave years of service to this hotel? Pan Pacific workers deserve what other Vancouver hotel workers have won – to have their jobs back and to be treated with dignity and respect.”
Matt de Marchi, Local 40 representative: “Workers are telling us, ‘They are hiring anybody – people with no hotel experience at all’, rather than bring back the former employees who voted for a union. Management is telling workers that they cannot find any staff, but they will not call back the people who used to work here.”
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
###