"Hotels and taverns have been supplying man's basic needs for food and shelter for some three thousand years. The old inns and taverns gradually developed into centers of informal social life for the local townsmen. The waiter, server of beverages, the cook and the kitchen worker toiled in arduous and exacting labour, but also enjoyed the fellowship of his fellow man. "Working in a tavern a man could always eat." The above was inspired by the late Matthew Josephson, author of "Union House, Union Bar - The History of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union", published in 1956. Introduction Over one hundred years ago, this Union, now known as UNITE HERE! Local 40, was born on the west coast of Canada in the young City of Vancouver. The year 2000 marked 100 years since the formal organization of this trade union, making it one of the oldest, most skilled and experienced trade unions in the province of British Columbia. It is also the only trade union in BC dedicated to the interests of hospitality workers. Although old in days, the Union is still young at heart and it's growth has been nothing but spectacular. It has survived strikes and prohibition, it has endured trials and tribulations, has experienced trusteeship and raiding, and it is still here, serving its' members with a dedication that now has over a century of experience. 
Camp culinary workers outside the Columbia Kootenay Mine boarding house at a 1901 Fernie, BC mining camp. A Brief History of Our Union The following was written with original material supplied by former Local 16 Business Representative and enthusiastic Union supporter James Morrison who worked with the Union for over 35 years. Early History Albeit from many divergent paths, workers in British Columbia's hospitality industry have come together to form one of the largest Unions in this province. Supporting workers in every facet of the industry, UNITE HERE! Local 40 has led its' members to a lofty position in North America. The first organizing campaign took place in Vancouver and was rewarded with an American Federation of Labour charter for Local 28 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Union in July of 1900. At that time, Local 28 had jurisdiction over cafe employees, as well as service employees in all British Columbia hotels and those establishments participating in the hospitality industry. Three years later, a charter was issued for Local 676 of the Beverage Dispensers' Union. This Local, as the name suggests, represented bartenders and waiters in city establishments engaged in the sale of alcoholic drinks. Following different practices than those used in Local 28, Local 676 members worked in a closed shop and were dispatched out of a hiring hall. While the early years in British Columbia had many challenges, it was not until prohibition in 1917 - turning British Columbia dry - that the Union, particularly Local 676, was seriously threatened. Its' bartenders and waiters, accustomed to serving liquor to male customers only, were now faced with the very different prospect of making sundaes for giggling schoolgirls and onion-eyed spinsters. Many bartenders shucked their aprons in disgust and left for what they perceived as more manly work. Others simply found themselves out of work and unable to pay Union dues if they wanted to. Still others, went to work in speakeasies (as they would in the United States during its' booze ban of the roaring twenties) which in some locales were more numerous than legal spots had been. Until Prohibition ended, Local 676 was known as the Soft Drink Dispensers' Union. Actually, Prohibition almost wiped out Local 676. But Local 28, which represented more than 1,000 cooks, waiters and waitresses not affected by a liquor embargo, lent a helping hand. Ten members of Local 676, including President Walter Clancy and Secretary Treasurer Tim Hannafin, struggled through Prohibition, paying regular dues to maintain the charter. return to top 
Strike fashions around 1935. Shown above are waitresses on strike at the Trocadero Cafe in Vancouver. At the same time that Prohibition was devastating organized liquor handlers, new opportunities for organizing presented themselves to others, like Local 28, who represented restaurant workers. Cafeterias with unskilled labour, fast food eateries with no tipping, lunch counters and ice cream parlours sprang up to replace the bars and liquors outlets that died with Prohibition. Local 28, then strongly represented by women, mobilized to enlist new members. With the repeal of Prohibition, bartenders and waiters flocked back to the Union, in some instances bloating the struggling Local's membership by 2,000 percent over a very short period. Bartenders were expeditiously inducted into the Union in crowds, and were glad to have the company. It seemed that common sense had prevailed and they had their craft back. In 1919, bars were opened for the sale of near-beer, under special city license. Pretty weak stuff and non-intoxicating, its' appearance was nonetheless a step in the right direction. In 1921, some membership club licenses were issued by the city and employment opportunities began to sweeten up for Vancouver's bartenders. If it wasn't already dead, Prohibition's last gasp was in 1925, when the sale of beer by the glass was legalized. This latest measure, for some reason seen as a risky business endeavour in a recently dry city, had been promoted by the Moderation League and hotel and club owners. After the 20 hotel owners who started selling beer by the glass found the biggest risk lay in hefty revenues, others jumped on the bandwagon hoping they would never have to look back again. Post Prohibition Reorganizing was the energized Local 676's priority. Tim Hannafin performed this in Vancouver in 1925, then he, along with Organizer Jack Weinberger of the International Union, took the Union's campaign further into BC and Alberta. By 1936, through job action and organizing drives, membership had doubled. Meanwhile, hotel workers were successfully signing up members in the hotel chains owned by Canada's large railways and enlarging an already solid female corps of unionists. Indeed, the era is notable for the proliferation of women elected to executive positions, in Canada and the United States. 
The strikers from the White Lunch Restaurants in Vancouver, shown above in the 1937 May Day parade, won when customers refused to cross the picket line. In 1939, New Westminster Local 835 of the Beverage Dispenser's and Culinary Workers' Union was chartered by the International and given broad jurisdiction in British Columbia, excluding Vancouver and Vancouver Island. With the agreement of Locals 676, 28 and the International, Local 835 was designated a "Miscellaneous Local", to hasten organization and unite representation in the hospitality industry. It negotiated all restaurant employees in its' area, whether they handled liquor, restaurant, hotel, duties or domestic services. Over the years, Local 835 would be the beneficiary of outstanding organizing by members like Jack Dye, Jim Morrison, Frank Gowan, Harry O'Brien, Ed Carlson, Charles Oates and Ron Bonar, and became the largest Local in Canada. Local 740 of the Club, Culinary and Cabaret Union was formed as a miscellaneous unit after the establishment of Local 835 and was organizing camp construction at Kitimat. It was also given jurisdiction in Vancouver nightclubs, cabarets and social membership clubs. With the Kitimat project completion, Local 740 was dissolved and its membership absorbed by Local 835. return to top Post World War II Two things led to a rapid growth of the Union after World War II. For one, priority was given to Local 28, which represented workers in 42 cafes, for organizing the hospitality industry with the main target being hotel employees. It was a very successful campaign! Secondly, a national strike of railway-owned hotels attracted the attention and the allegiance of new members. These new Brothers and Sisters were not to be disappointed. 
Local 28 members showing solidarity in the 1950s. By the 1950s, Local 28 had obtained a work week reduction to 40 hours, substantial wage gains and statutory holiday provisions. And, Local 676 with a healthy membership of 700 was not far behind. It was also during this period, when enviable health care plans were negotiated into contracts and that employers began to take a new look at industrial relations. Professionals were hired and the Union responded in kind. At contract time, it came to depend on Ed Sims, International Director of the BC Brewery Union and a President of the Vancouver and District Labour Council. As contract talks became more intensive and laborious, a new weapon was needed to get the Union's message to the public. Thus, the information picket was established as a communications tool when Chris Waddell and A.R. Johnstone of Local 28 set one up at the Aristocratic Restaurant at the corner of Broadway and Granville in Vancouver. Waddell became the Business Agent for Local 28 before she transferred to the Department of Labour, while Johnstone led a successful major negotiation against Toronto's Royal York Hotel. A 1952 liquor inquiry commission in which BC Locals participated led to major policy reforms. Hard liquor had previously been sold only in private member clubs like the Quadra and the Irish Canadian. Under the new reforms, lounges in hotels were granted the same right to sell hard liquor, where only beer and sundries (cigarettes, nuts) had been available. In these private clubs, Local 676 represented bartenders, waiters, cleaners, utility men and doormen. Local 28 meanwhile, continued to represent restaurant employees, even in private clubs, so that in organized establishments, both Locals held jurisdiction until after Local 740 was chartered and given this jurisdiction previously held by Local 676 and Local 28. Soon after, consolidation cleared up any blurred jurisdictional lines. In 1966, Local 513 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union in Victoria merged with Local 835 which added Nanaimo Local 619 in 1973. In 1974, Locals 676 and 28 merged to form the Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders' Union, Local 16. The new Local 16 presided over the industry in the Vancouver area while Local 835 represented the rest of BC, except Prince Rupert, which retained it's autonomy with Local 636. A final merger was undertaken in 1976 when Local 835 amalgamated with Local 16. The result was the Hotel, Restaurant & Culinary Employees' and Bartender's Union Local 40. Local 636 in Prince Rupert was taken into the fold in the early 1990's thereby enabling Local 40 to represent members throughout the entire province of British Columbia. During the Union's history in BC, four main types of contracts have been employed - a master agreement with the BC Hotels Association, construction camp agreements in conjunction with the BC and Yukon Building Trades Council, non-aligned agreements with individual hospitality industry operations and a master agreement with the veteran's clubs. The Union has developed a reputation of negotiating high calibre health care and pension plans, along with the highest rates of pay in the North American hospitality industry. Today! July of 2004 saw the merging of Local 40's parent union with the dynamic UNITE! membership, creating UNITE HERE!, one of North America's most powerful labour unions with a membership of over 440,000 active and 400,000 retired members. Local 40 looks forward to more change as we continue to grow and evolve, and fully acknowledge one thing that hasn't changed: the professionalism of its' members in making our services more efficient, our stay more pleasant and our night out more enjoyable. return to top | 
