Photo above left: Local 40 members and their supporters stood together and showed their support for one another at Labour Relations Board hearings held in Vancouver this spring as ongoing difficulties with contract negotiations at Holiday Inn on Broadway in Vancouver were reviewed. The union continues to seek a successful resolution to these difficult matters and these hotel workers are to be commended for showing their strength and solidarity with these tough issues. Photo above right: UNITE HERE Canada Co-Director Nick Worhaug, left, was on hand at the union election ballot count in February as President/Administrator Jim Pearson, right, and Secretary-Treasurer Shelly Ervin, center, were re-elected by a majority of the membership as Executive Officers at Local 40. The past few months have been filled with extraordinary activity as new contracts have been secured for our members working at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel (DVA) in Richmond and at the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby. We are still engaged in the fight for our members working at the Holiday Inn on Broadway in Vancouver and I thank all those who are supporting our union members at this property. These workers are certainly enduring a difficult battle with this employer and are to be commended for coming forward and speaking out at the Labour Relations Board hearings that took place this spring, and are still ongoing. Many thanks as well to our Organizing Team who have been working closely with these members. Our union elections have brought new members onto Local 40’s Executive Board and together with President Jim Pearson I am extremely pleased to have Sister Lorrie Dyer now in the position of Vice-President. Lorrie’s enthusiasm, commitment and understanding will go a long way in supporting not only Local 40 members on Vancouver Island where she has been active as the Area Steward for a few years now, but to all Local 40 members across British Columbia. I’d also like to welcome our newest Trustees: Steve Grant, Judy Clements, and Emma Jimenez, and Executive Board members, Rolando Gonzales, Jamie Tremblay, Tracy Jewer, Priscilla Pacheco and Jimmy Khan who join with our incumbents Vicki Bolan, Donna Bullough, Randall Cooper, Richard Dietl, Margaret Prieston, Tom Corless and Louie Guevarra. As I mentioned in my last report in December’s issue of The Mixer, our union underwent a routine audit as is common practice with every Local within our organization ever since the merger took place in July 2004. Since the report came out in February I have been working very closely with the accountants, and the International, to ensure that the Local will be in compliance with the high standards expected in this day and age. With the International Union’s direction, we have implemented a project plan that is very ambitious, however, I am up to the challenge and in meeting this challenge I have been working very hard to put into place patterns of practice that will meet the new requirements demanded of running a large organization such as our Local Union. In order to achieve this goal I will no longer oversee the Area Stewards on Vancouver Island and will focus all my attention on these matters. We have also worked closely with the Union’s Executive Board and staff in communicating the audit results and the changes in practice that we have instituted. It is not easy to apply change but we are looking forward to full implementation of the plan that the International and accountants have recommended. As we progress with these tasks we are already seeing positive results with operations being streamlined and modernized, and I thank all involved for their ongoing support in these matters. As UNITE HERE continues to grow and succeed in expanding our union membership to the unorganized across North America, as well as securing improved contracts, better working conditions and higher wages for our members, it is enlightening to see our organization moving quickly into the future with a sense of confidence in its ability to adapt to the changing role of labour unions in our society. Progressive, fundamental change in the way we function as a labour union is vital to the very existence of worker organizations that are challenged at every opportunity. The corporate and business worlds are very powerful and influential and are constantly evolving in their efforts to control the playing field, and it is through this lens that worker organizations like ours need to focus. Modernizing, taking new approaches and changing the way that we may have succeeded in the past to ensure continued success in the future is a sign of strong leadership and UNITE HERE is showing itself to be a front runner in this area. But it is not simply the elected leaders that make change possible – it is the strength of the membership, standing together with one common cause that wins the fight at the end of the day. We see this over and over – when we speak with one voice, when we stand together for one another, this is when we succeed, and I encourage all of you to remember that everyday on the shop floor, when talking about union issues with your co-workers and when it comes time to fight for new contracts. Take part in the discussions, make that extra effort to effect positive change, and the benefits will come back to you ten-fold. We have seen this in our recent bargaining campaigns using the Hotel Workers RISING! and Service Workers RISING! programs as our templates for success. And even though we may have won some contract battles recently, we can never give up. We have to continue on a daily basis to stick together and stand for one another and gain the power and influence we need to succeed. Summer will soon be here and for many of our members that means increased workloads as tourists flock into the city for their holidays. Work safe, be well and I hope you find some holiday time for yourself and your family this summer. |
