UNITE HERE Local 40 members working at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa voted 96 percent in favor of strike action on Monday, June 24.
According to a union press release, housekeepers, front desk clerks, waiters, cooks, dishwashers and other resort workers are demanding fair wages, fair working hours, better healthcare benefits, transparency in tips at banquets and adequate retirement benefits.
“Guests can pay over $300 a night and yet workers have not received a raise in a year,” the union said.
The workers’ last collective bargaining agreement expired in May. UNITE HERE filed charges of fraudulent bargaining after the resort failed to respond to a request for negotiations in February. The union and resort management have held several rounds of negotiations and will resume negotiations this week.
“Throughout the pandemic, workers have risked their health and safety to keep the hotel operating,” the union said. “They agreed to modest wage increases and limited overtime and vacation concessions to meet the challenges of the health crisis. However, the resort experienced a recovery in leisure travel much earlier than the province’s urban hotel markets and continues to experience thriving business.”
The Aldesta Hotel Group owns the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa. Aldesta acquired the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort last year for $40 million.
