Workers at hotel near YVR vote in favour of strike action
Posted May 22, 2023 10:08 am.
Last Updated May 22, 2023 10:09 am.
Unionized workers at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel in Richmond have voted in favour of strike action.
In a release sent out Monday morning, the union UNITE HERE Local 40 says after months of bargaining, 88 per cent of workers voted in favour of job action in order to secure better wages.
Workers include housekeepers, banquet staff, front desk agents, and employees of the hotel’s Starbucks.
The union says a $5 per hour wage increase is needed to help workers afford the cost of living in Richmond and Vancouver, noting the hotel’s wages “fall behind competing Vancouver area hotels, with most workers earning less than a living wage.”
Stories shared by the union outline employees, who are mostly women and immigrants, needing two or three jobs to make ends meet.
The hotel is owned by Larco Hospitality, which also owns the Marriott and Hilton hotels near the Vancouver International Airport.
With the vote, the union says picket lines can go up after workers issue a 72-hour strike notice.
