Victoria, BC — Frontline workers at the Coast Victoria Hotel have walked off the job for the second time this month, escalating their call for urgent action on living wages, safe workloads, and proper staffing levels.
The strike, led by members of UNITE HERE Local 40, comes at a time when Victoria’s tourism industry is breaking records. Despite booming business, workers say they’re being pushed to the brink, unable to afford to live in the city they serve and forced to shoulder unsafe workloads due to chronic understaffing.
“Victoria is booming for hotel owners, but for the people doing the work, the city is becoming impossible to live in,” said Melissa Irvine, a room attendant; “We’re not asking for the moon, just enough to live where we work and to do our jobs safely, with adequate staff.”
“Our workloads are unsafe, our wages are unsustainable, and our patience has run out,” said Mike Hull, a server at the Blue Crab Restaurant. “With tourism this strong, there’s no excuse for Coast Victoria not to invest in the staff who keep our hotel running.”
Workers say the front desk and restaurant are understaffed, forcing employees to juggle multiple roles with little support. Room attendants report being pressured to clean newly renovated rooms, which take longer to service, at unsafe speeds, risking injury and burnout.
Despite repeated attempts to address these concerns through bargaining, management at Coast Victoria has failed to meaningfully respond. Workers say they will not return to negotiations until there is a clear commitment from the hotel to resolve core issues.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s hotel industry is enjoying its most profitable season in years. Hotel occupancy reached nearly 92% in June, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 17% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. This is the strongest performance of any major BC hotel market, based on data from Destination BC.
Picket lines are now up outside the Coast Victoria Hotel, and the strike is expected to disrupt hotel operations as well as service at the Blue Crab Seafood House.
Media Contact: Rifat Islam – 604.619.0798 – [email protected]
Coast Victoria Hotel Workers Strike Again, Demand Living Wages and Proper Staffing Amid Tourism Boom
Victoria, BC — Frontline workers at the Coast Victoria Hotel have walked off the job for the second time this month, escalating their call for urgent action on living wages, safe workloads, and proper staffing levels.
The strike, led by members of UNITE HERE Local 40, comes at a time when Victoria’s tourism industry is breaking records. Despite booming business, workers say they’re being pushed to the brink, unable to afford to live in the city they serve and forced to shoulder unsafe workloads due to chronic understaffing.
“Victoria is booming for hotel owners, but for the people doing the work, the city is becoming impossible to live in,” said Melissa Irvine, a room attendant; “We’re not asking for the moon, just enough to live where we work and to do our jobs safely, with adequate staff.”
“Our workloads are unsafe, our wages are unsustainable, and our patience has run out,” said Mike Hull, a server at the Blue Crab Restaurant. “With tourism this strong, there’s no excuse for Coast Victoria not to invest in the staff who keep our hotel running.”
Workers say the front desk and restaurant are understaffed, forcing employees to juggle multiple roles with little support. Room attendants report being pressured to clean newly renovated rooms, which take longer to service, at unsafe speeds, risking injury and burnout.
Despite repeated attempts to address these concerns through bargaining, management at Coast Victoria has failed to meaningfully respond. Workers say they will not return to negotiations until there is a clear commitment from the hotel to resolve core issues.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s hotel industry is enjoying its most profitable season in years. Hotel occupancy reached nearly 92% in June, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 17% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. This is the strongest performance of any major BC hotel market, based on data from Destination BC.
Picket lines are now up outside the Coast Victoria Hotel, and the strike is expected to disrupt hotel operations as well as service at the Blue Crab Seafood House.
Media Contact: Rifat Islam – 604.619.0798 – [email protected]
BREAKING: Coast Victoria Hotel Workers are On Strike!
For Immediate Release
Victoria, BC — Hospitality workers at Coast Victoria Hotel walked off the job and onto the picket line this morning, launching the city’s first hotel strike in decades.
Room attendants, front desk agents, kitchen staff, servers, and other employees began striking ahead of the busy August weekend, demanding safer workloads, respect on the job, and living wages. The workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, are conducting a 1-day strike to protest the company’s indifference to their longstanding concerns. Picket lines went up at 5AM this morning and will impact staffing at the hotel and the Blue Crab Seafood House.
The city of Victoria is experiencing a surge of visitors with hotel occupancy reaching nearly 92% last month. Coast Victoria has met the influx of tourists by charging hotel guests nearly $400 per night and up to $1,000 for some rooms. Workers are calling for living wages to keep up with the rising cost of living in the city, as the living wage in Victoria has climbed to nearly $27 an hour. Workers are also demanding safe housekeeping workloads, proper staffing, and respect on the job.
The workers have been in negotiations for a new collective agreement for several months. Their last collective agreement expired on April 30.
Coast Victoria is owned and operated by APA Hotels & Resorts, the Tokyo-based hotel chain. In February, APA reported record earnings across international operations of 226 billion yen ($2.1 billion CAD) and stated in a company publication that the company was “setting sales and profit records for the second period in a row.”
Media Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
Horizon North Accused of Blacklisting Camp Workers Based on Union Affiliation
Vancouver, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40 has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the BC Labour Relations Board against Horizon North, a subsidiary of Dexterra Group (DXT.TO), alleging the company is blacklisting low-wage immigrant workers because of their union affiliation.
Horizon North operates remote work camps across Western Canada and employs hundreds of workers—many of them immigrants—in food service, housekeeping, and maintenance roles. The company frequently reassigns laid-off staff to other camps when work slows. However, the union says Horizon North is systematically denying those reassignments to workers from unionized camps, blocking them from jobs at non-union sites solely because they are members of Local 40. In some cases, management explicitly told workers they were ineligible for reassignment because of their union affiliation.
“This is blatant blacklisting of low-wage immigrant workers who dared to join a union,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “Horizon North is punishing them for organizing and stripping them of future job opportunities.” The complaint accuses the company of violating Section 6 of the BC Labour Relations Code and seeks an order to end the practice, release records of affected workers, and compensate those denied work.
This complaint comes two months after Horizon North locked out workers from Kobes Creek Lodge and left them stranded in Fort St John, hundreds of kilometers from their homes in Edmonton. This was the first lockout at a BC camp in decades – another time in which Horizon stood out for its anti-union activity.
Media Contact: Nate Holers, [email protected], 250-889-7682
Hilton Metrotown Workers Win Top Wage Standard in Burnaby
New collective agreement overwhelmingly ratified last night
Vancouver, BC — Hilton Metrotown workers have secured the highest wage standard for Burnaby’s hospitality workers after ratifying a new three-year agreement last night. The workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, voted 97% in favour of the new collective agreement. Workers will receive a 21.5% wage increase over the term, setting a new industry-leading wage standard for suburban area hotel workers.
With Hilton Metrotown charging rates of nearly $500 per night or more, with some nights fully booked, the workers bargained a contract that enables them to share in the success of the hotel.
“I am so proud that we won major wage increases and raised the standard for local hotel workers. We take pride in the service we deliver to guests every day. Our work should be valued, and this new contract allows us to support our families and keep doing the work we love,” said Michelle Catubig, a room attendant and member of the union bargaining committee.
Under the new agreement, the new Burnaby hotel wage standard will lift the room attendant wage to $28.10 per hour and the first cook wage to $31.67 per hour during the contract term. Workers also secured increased incentive pay for valet and bell staff, greater gratuities for restaurant and room service staff, increased pay for department leads and training, in addition to enhancements to their paramedical and vision benefits, among other benefits. The new agreement expires in 2028.
The gains for Hilton Metrotown workers follow other standard-setting contracts recently won by UNITE HERE Local 40 members across Downtown Vancouver and Richmond hotels and at Vancouver International Airport.
Media Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
Gate Gourmet YVR Workers Vote in favour to Ratify Deal, Becoming Highest Paid In-Flight Catering Crew in Canada
Richmond, BC – Gate Gourmet workers at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, have overwhelmingly ratified a groundbreaking new contract.
The nearly 450 workers will see their wages rise by 14% by July 2028, marking one of the most significant gains for any in-flight catering workers in Canada. By the end of the contract, a Gate Gourmet worker will earn an average of $30 – $34 per hour, reflecting the essential nature of their work. Inflight catering workers prepare, pack and deliver food and beverages to aircraft in a high-pressure environment with tight turnaround times between flights.
“This contract is the result of workers standing strong together. We’re proud to have won raises that actually keep up with inflation and move these jobs closer to a real living wage. This round of bargaining was respectful and productive, and we’re especially proud that we reached this deal before the current contract expires in July,” said Surdiner Grewal, a transportation coordinator.
The new union contract also includes better dental coverage for workers and their families and increased pension contributions.
Gate Gourmet is one of the world’s largest independent providers of airline catering services, serving airport locations across the globe, including Vancouver International Airport, Toronto Pearson Airport and Calgary International Airport.
UNITE HERE Local 40 represents hospitality workers including hotels, airports, camp service, and food service workers across the province, and has recently secured major gains for workers in all of these areas.
Contact: Rifat Islam, [email protected], 604-619-0798