Board orders hotel to reinstate all unlawfully laid off bellmen and valet, with backpay
Vancouver, B.C. – For the second time in recent months, the BC Labour Relations Board has found that Executive Hotel & Resorts violated labour laws during a union organizing drive and has ordered the remedy of automatic union certification – this time at Executive Hotel Le Soleil. This follows a similar ruling at The EXchange Hotel earlier this year.
In a decision released March 20, 2026, the Board certified UNITE HERE Local 40 at the Executive Hotel Le Soleil in downtown Vancouver, concluding that the employer’s conduct made it impossible to determine employees’ true wishes through a vote. The ruling builds on a ruling in August in which the Board found Le Soleil management breached the Labour Code by unlawfully interfering in a union organizing drive by steering workers to CLAC, the bosses’ preferred union.
This is the second remedial certification involving and Executive Hotels & Resorts property. In January, the Board issued a similar ruling against management at The EXchange Hotel, finding management illegally interfered with workers’ organizing drive through pressure, intimidation, and inducements.
In its latest decision, the Board found management engaged in a sustained campaign of interference, intimidation, and retaliation during the workers’ organizing drive. Despite the August ruling, the employer continued to support CLAC, even after the Board voided the company’s voluntary recognition agreement with them, declaring the agreement unlawful. Management continued deducting and remitting dues to CLAC and asserted that the rival union remained in place. Vice Chair Bruce Wilkins found this conduct undermined employee free choice and constituted unlawful financial support.
The Board also found that managers pressured workers about their union support, attempted to identify union supporters, and encouraged workers to revoke their membership in UNITE HERE Local 40. In one instance, a manager asked an employee to stop discussing Local 40 with co-workers, while in another, management provided materials to facilitate employees withdrawing their support.
One of the most serious violations occurred when management laid off an entire department during the organizing campaign. Nine Bell and Valet employees, all of whom had signed union cards, were terminated two days before the end of a Board imposed “cooling off period” intended to restore employees’ ability to freely choose their bargaining agent. In his decision, Vice Chair Wilkins wrote:
“I find the fact that Bell and Valet employees were laid off two days prior to the end of the cooling period to be highly significant. I find that the timing of their layoff provides proof that the layoff was motivated, in part, by anti-union animus, and was done to discourage and frustrate any impending certification application of Local 40 at a critical time in their organizing drive. I find the elimination of the Bell and Valet employees sent an intimidating message to employees who wished to support Local 40 that their jobs may be in jeopardy as well.”
The Board concluded the employer’s conduct had irreparably tainted the organizing process at Le Soleil.
As in the earlier EXchange ruling, the Board determined that lesser remedies would be insufficient and only remedial certification – granting union status without a vote – could restore employees’ rights. This remedy is reserved for the most serious violations of the Labour Relations Code.
The Board also ordered the employer to reinstate all Bell and Valet employees with compensation to the date of layoff, and to return to each employee all dues remitted to CLAC since August, among other remedies.
“This is now the second time the Labour Board has ordered union certification at an Executive Hotel because of management’s egregious efforts to break the law to stop workers from organizing,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “The Board has made it clear that when employers interfere with workers’ rights in this way, there will be real consequences.”
Le Soleil workers are the fifth group of hotel workers to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 40 in Metro Vancouver in the past nine months.
Media Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
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Media Advisory: Pan Pacific Vancouver Workers to Rally Ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup
WHAT: Hotel workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, will hold a rally this Friday in front of the Pan Pacific Hotel to call for wages that allow them to live in the city where they work, safer workloads, and respect. With a record-breaking cruise season anticipated and the 2026 FIFA World Cup around the corner, Vancouver’s hotel sector is booming. Yet, the workers who deliver world-class service are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living in Metro Vancouver.
WHO: Pan Pacific Hotel workers and members of UNITE HERE Local 40.
WHEN: Friday, April 10 at 3:30pm
WHERE: Pan Pacific Hotel, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver,
VISUALS: Workers will be marching, carrying signs and chanting with bullhorns.
CONTACT: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
Job Posting: UBC Student Organizer (Temporary, 3-month position)
UNITE HERE Local 40, BC’s union for hospitality workers, is seeking a UBC Student Organizer to recruit, train and mobilize students who want a city that works for us – not rich developers. We’re building a movement of workers, students, activists and renters to take back City Hall. We’re committed to developing leadership, organizing the unorganized, and to building a strong, fighting community movement.
This position is ideal for a current or former UBC student who has a passion for organizing the unorganized and wants to receive training to develop these skills. The successful applicant is driven, courageous, open to feedback, hard working, and a fighter with a deep commitment to social change. The position entails irregular hours including work in the evenings and weekends.
Responsibilities include:
Qualifications:
Job Requirements:
Previous experience working with student, labour, immigrant, LGBTQ+, and/or environmental activist communities is preferred.
Pay: $30/hour
Send Resume & Cover Letter to Mike Biskar, [email protected].
Press Release: B.C. Labour Board Takes Rare Step of Granting Second Remedial Certification to UNITE HERE Local 40 at Executive Hotel Property
Board orders hotel to reinstate all unlawfully laid off bellmen and valet, with backpay
Vancouver, B.C. – For the second time in recent months, the BC Labour Relations Board has found that Executive Hotel & Resorts violated labour laws during a union organizing drive and has ordered the remedy of automatic union certification – this time at Executive Hotel Le Soleil. This follows a similar ruling at The EXchange Hotel earlier this year.
In a decision released March 20, 2026, the Board certified UNITE HERE Local 40 at the Executive Hotel Le Soleil in downtown Vancouver, concluding that the employer’s conduct made it impossible to determine employees’ true wishes through a vote. The ruling builds on a ruling in August in which the Board found Le Soleil management breached the Labour Code by unlawfully interfering in a union organizing drive by steering workers to CLAC, the bosses’ preferred union.
This is the second remedial certification involving and Executive Hotels & Resorts property. In January, the Board issued a similar ruling against management at The EXchange Hotel, finding management illegally interfered with workers’ organizing drive through pressure, intimidation, and inducements.
In its latest decision, the Board found management engaged in a sustained campaign of interference, intimidation, and retaliation during the workers’ organizing drive. Despite the August ruling, the employer continued to support CLAC, even after the Board voided the company’s voluntary recognition agreement with them, declaring the agreement unlawful. Management continued deducting and remitting dues to CLAC and asserted that the rival union remained in place. Vice Chair Bruce Wilkins found this conduct undermined employee free choice and constituted unlawful financial support.
The Board also found that managers pressured workers about their union support, attempted to identify union supporters, and encouraged workers to revoke their membership in UNITE HERE Local 40. In one instance, a manager asked an employee to stop discussing Local 40 with co-workers, while in another, management provided materials to facilitate employees withdrawing their support.
One of the most serious violations occurred when management laid off an entire department during the organizing campaign. Nine Bell and Valet employees, all of whom had signed union cards, were terminated two days before the end of a Board imposed “cooling off period” intended to restore employees’ ability to freely choose their bargaining agent. In his decision, Vice Chair Wilkins wrote:
“I find the fact that Bell and Valet employees were laid off two days prior to the end of the cooling period to be highly significant. I find that the timing of their layoff provides proof that the layoff was motivated, in part, by anti-union animus, and was done to discourage and frustrate any impending certification application of Local 40 at a critical time in their organizing drive. I find the elimination of the Bell and Valet employees sent an intimidating message to employees who wished to support Local 40 that their jobs may be in jeopardy as well.”
The Board concluded the employer’s conduct had irreparably tainted the organizing process at Le Soleil.
As in the earlier EXchange ruling, the Board determined that lesser remedies would be insufficient and only remedial certification – granting union status without a vote – could restore employees’ rights. This remedy is reserved for the most serious violations of the Labour Relations Code.
The Board also ordered the employer to reinstate all Bell and Valet employees with compensation to the date of layoff, and to return to each employee all dues remitted to CLAC since August, among other remedies.
“This is now the second time the Labour Board has ordered union certification at an Executive Hotel because of management’s egregious efforts to break the law to stop workers from organizing,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “The Board has made it clear that when employers interfere with workers’ rights in this way, there will be real consequences.”
Le Soleil workers are the fifth group of hotel workers to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 40 in Metro Vancouver in the past nine months.
Media Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
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Press Release: Union Urges Premier to Intervene to Protect Convention Centre Banquet Workers’ Right to Unionize
Vancouver, BC — UNITE HERE Local 40 has sent a letter to Premier David Eby and Tourism Minister Anne Kang calling on the provincial government to intervene on behalf of contracted banquet workers at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
A strong majority of banquet workers employed by contractor Sodexo Live have signed union cards to join UNITE HERE Local 40. The union says the workers’ application is being challenged by the contractor, despite the clear majority support for union representation.
At the same time, Local 40 has filed an unfair labour practice complaint against Sodexo Live related to the company’s conduct during the organizing drive.
In the letter, the union urges the NDP government to direct PavCo and its contractor to withdraw their challenge and allow the workers’ democratic choice to prevail.
“These banquet workers help power Vancouver’s hospitality industry and represent our city to visitors from around the world,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “They have clearly chosen to join a union, and that choice should be respected, not delayed or undermined through legal challenges. We are calling on the government to live up to its values and ensure these workers can exercise their right to organize freely and without interference.”
Banquet staff at the Vancouver Convention Centre play a key role in delivering events and conferences that showcase British Columbia on the global stage – including the upcoming 76th FIFA Congress. They deserve respect, fair treatment, and the freedom to choose union representation without obstruction.
“Workers who help make B.C.’s world-class convention centre successful should not face anti-union tactics simply for standing up for themselves,” said Chan. “Workers serving guests at the Vancouver Convention Centre deserve the same voice on the job that thousands of hospitality workers in nearby unionized convention hotels already have.”
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785
Job Posting: Community Canvassers (Vancouver)
(Full-Time; Temporary – 6 months)
Build the movement to Take Back Vancouver!
We’re building a movement of workers, students, activists and renters to take back City Hall. Our representatives should be serving average working people, not rich developers. This role will involve signature gathering, persuasion, and mobilization of voters in support of living wages, affordable housing, and a city that works for us.
Qualifications:
The canvasser position is an entry-level position. No experience with canvassing or signature gathering is necessary. Successful applicants, however, will have the following characteristics:
Terms of Employment:
Start Date: April 1, 2026
Compensation: $30 / hour
Please note: Applicants should send a resume, letter, and the names, titles and phone numbers of two professional references to [email protected].