Canada’s Longest Strike Ends With Victory for Vancouver Hotel Workers

After four years — or 1,411 days — on the picket line, workers at the Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport Hotel voted yes on a contract this week, ending the longest strike in Canadian history.

Workers at Radisson Blu (formerly the Pacific Gateway Hotel), including room attendants, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, baristas, housemen and maintenance workers say the longest hotel strike in history was worth it.

According to the UNITE HERE Local 40, the union that represents the hospitality workers, the deal sets “a new standard for Metro Vancouver hotel workers.”

In addition to fighting for wages and better working conditions, workers were also pushing to protect the recall rights of 143 staff who were terminated during the pandemic.

Canada’s longest active strike keeps going at a hotel in Vancouver.

Here’s how hotel management gets around British Columbia’s anti-scab law.https://t.co/ZpLKh04Atj #bcpoli #canlab

— PressProgress (@pressprogress) June 27, 2023

At the time, the hotel was being used by the federal government as a quarantine site for international travellers. 

Michelle Travis with UNITE HERE Local 40 says the victory feels “tremendous.”

“It is a testament to the workers’ bravery and endurance to be able to strike for nearly four years to win recall for all 143 terminated workers and for fair treatment on the job,” Travis said in a statement to PressProgress. “The strikers have a strong sense of pride in what they achieved.”

As part of the agreement, the workers who were terminated during the pandemic will have the right to return to their jobs based on seniority,as well as securing better wages for workers, improved medical benefits, new personal days and sick days that carry over as well as increased protections for workers. 

Jillian Louie, a server at the hotel since 1991, says she’s“proud” her co-workers stuck together. 

“Even though it took a hell of a long time to get here, we stood up for what we believed in,” Louie said in the release. “It was a struggle and hard on my family financially, especially with a mortgage to pay. Without the Union, we would not have won our jobs back or gotten a strong contract.”

Travis said support from the public throughout the fight was strong and sent a message to other striking workers that winning is possible. 

“The strikers actually received a lot of support from customers, community and the labour movement,” Travis said. “The message this sends is that workers who stick together, and are willing to fight side by side and for as long as it takes, can win.”

Last year, workers  marked three years on strike with a rally outside the hotel and were met with support from the labour community. 

Three Years on Strike and Counting: Canada’s Longest Active Strike Continues at a Vancouver Hotel

Hotel workers have showed up to the picket line in rain, snow and sun to fight for job security and wages families can live on.https://t.co/1xULuj2Nhh #bcpoli #canlab

— PressProgress (@pressprogress) May 7, 2024

The deal was ultimately reached with the support of a mediator and the union hopes the new contract will act as a “reset” within the owner-employer relationship.

“With this new agreement, it allows unionized staff and the employer to turn the page and re-establish a working relationship based on mutual respect. We look forward to that,” Travis said.  

However, the strike itself could have been avoided had the provincial government passed right-to-recall legislation, which guarantees employees who have been laid off the ability to return to their jobs in the event work becomes available again within a certain time frame.

Hotel workers are fighting for their right to be recalled to work after the pandemic ends.

Without legislation protecting their right to recall, they could lose their jobs for good.https://t.co/3PprMOIItX #canlab #bcpoli

— PressProgress (@pressprogress) June 8, 2021