Vancouver airport quarantine hotel workers preparing to strike

Workers at Vancouver’s federal quarantine hotel are preparing to go on strike and alleged the pandemic is being used as an excuse to lay off long-term workers.

Last year, the federal government took over the hotel to use as a quarantine site for travelers returning to Canada. In February, the Conservative Party  called for the suspension of COVID facilities after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted at a similar facility. The institutions have also been criticized the lack of food available for travelers quartered in the hotels.

A 72 hour strike notice was issued Thursday by UNITE HERE Local 40 alleging that the Pacific Gateway Hotel is laying off dozens of workers, many of whom are minority women and justifying the actions by citing the mandated closures from the pandemic. The union believes that the threat of the pandemic to the hotel industry is diminishing as vaccines are rolled out and provide optimism for recovery for the travel industry.

Zailda Chan, union president said at a press conference Thursday outside the hotel, "We will be escalating job action at this hotel in response to their aggressive tactics to crush the majority female workforce at this hotel."

Chan added, "Why is Prime Minister Trudeau’s government subsidizing a hotel that fires mothers and grandmothers? Why is a so-called feminist government, allowing women to be fired and replaced on their watch?"

The union is also upset that hotel employees have been replaced by workers from the Red Cross. "They made it worse by contracting out their work, instead of training long-term women, and others at this hotel to clean rooms and deliver meals in a quarantine environment," Chan said.

"We will keep fighting until every worker gets her job back when the industry recovers."

According to the union, another 100 workers will be terminated this month and the hotel will replace the workers with non-union employees.

Elisa Cardona, who worked at the hotel for seven years before being laid off in March said, "It’s been a very stressful time figuring out how to take care of my family since I lost my job," the single mother to two kids, ages 12 and 13 said.

"I immigrated to Canada from Mexico. Most of the women I work with are like me, we come from around the world, from Latin America, South Asia, China, and Philippines. We gave the best years of our life, to our hotel, and now we’re on the verge of losing everything we worked so hard for."

Cardona added that the money she receives through Employment Insurance is so little she must choose between paying the hydro bill or buying groceries.

“Prime Minister Trudeau, we have one question for you: When we go on strike. Will you cross the picket line, or will you join us in saying no two unequal women in the hotel industry?”