Angeline Mercer and her son Travis woke up at 6 a.m. on Wednesday to the sounds of hotel employees setting up picket lines at the downtown Delta Chelsea.
“I didn’t mind at all. I support unions,” said Travis, who is in town from Newfoundland for a two-year check-up at Toronto General Hospital for his double lung transplant.
“We woke up to quite a racket, but I’m okay with that.”
More than 100 of the Gerrard St. hotel’s hourly workers with Unite Here, Local 75, walked off the job after failing to negotiate a collective agreement for full-time jobs and lighter workloads.
Lynne Hill, a pub worker at the hotel for 34 years, said she and her fellow workers want some respect.
“All of us at the Delta Chelsea want to send a strong message. This hotel, and our industry in general, have been in recovery mode for months. There is absolutely no excuse for this hotel to ask us to accept concessions when it is looking forward to years of growing revenues,” Hill said.
Eula Marcos, a room attendant at the hotel for 19 years, said the recession has been hard on her and her co-workers.
“Most of us working in hotels are women and most of us are also immigrants. Women and immigrants were hit the hardest by the most recent recession. The hotel industry has recovered; we need to recover, too. This is not just about us — it’s about our families and our communities.” Marcos said.
The strikers were joined on the picket line by members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The hotel will remain open for business during the strike, said Murray Kelsey, Delta’s general manager.
“The goal of the Delta Chelsea Hotel has been to reach a negotiated collective agreement that is fair and represents the current economic climate,” Kelsey said. “We are disappointed that on Monday evening, the union’s negotiating committee walked away from the table and elected to take a strike.”
Kelsey added the hotel’s management team is willing to meet with the union’s negotiating committee at any time.
“I didn’t mind at all. I support unions,” said Travis, who is in town from Newfoundland for a two-year check-up at Toronto General Hospital for his double lung transplant.
“We woke up to quite a racket, but I’m okay with that.”
More than 100 of the Gerrard St. hotel’s hourly workers with Unite Here, Local 75, walked off the job after failing to negotiate a collective agreement for full-time jobs and lighter workloads.
Lynne Hill, a pub worker at the hotel for 34 years, said she and her fellow workers want some respect.
“All of us at the Delta Chelsea want to send a strong message. This hotel, and our industry in general, have been in recovery mode for months. There is absolutely no excuse for this hotel to ask us to accept concessions when it is looking forward to years of growing revenues,” Hill said.
Eula Marcos, a room attendant at the hotel for 19 years, said the recession has been hard on her and her co-workers.
“Most of us working in hotels are women and most of us are also immigrants. Women and immigrants were hit the hardest by the most recent recession. The hotel industry has recovered; we need to recover, too. This is not just about us — it’s about our families and our communities.” Marcos said.
The strikers were joined on the picket line by members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The hotel will remain open for business during the strike, said Murray Kelsey, Delta’s general manager.
“The goal of the Delta Chelsea Hotel has been to reach a negotiated collective agreement that is fair and represents the current economic climate,” Kelsey said. “We are disappointed that on Monday evening, the union’s negotiating committee walked away from the table and elected to take a strike.”
Kelsey added the hotel’s management team is willing to meet with the union’s negotiating committee at any time.
They have a Guitar Hero room, pool, internet room, indoor waterslide and daycare center. I hope they go back to work soon.
