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Storm brewing at Four Points Meadowvale Hotel
Hotel Workers in Mississauga Rally for Fair Contract as Negotiations Stall

Mississauga, July 22. At 4:00 PM today, workers at the Four Points by Sheraton Meadowvale, at 2501 Argentia Dr., did not head home. Instead, they congregated outside the hotel, donned picket signs, and began an informational picket.

Workers at the Four Points by Sheraton Meadowvale have been bargaining since November 2008. They have a straightforward goal: to achieve the same standard in wages and benefits as other UNITE HERE Local 75 hotel workers have, across the Airport Area and Mississauga. After workers rejected the last company offer by a 98% margin in June, contract negotiations have stalled.

“As workers, we have done more than our share in making this hotel a success,” explained Georgia Coley, a room attendant at the hotel and a member of the bargaining committee. “You have to understand that when this hotel was undergoing renovations during the last contract, we tightened our belts. We accepted a one-year wage freeze and even paid a portion of our health benefits. At the very least we need to see our wages and benefits catch up to other Local 75 hotels in the market.”

Currently, the Room Attendants at the Four Points by Sheraton Meadowvale earn $11.80 per hour, while room attendants in the other UNITE HERE Local 75 full service hotels in the Airport and Mississauga areas earn at least $14 to $15 per hour and do not pay any premium for their medical benefits.

Last summer, UNITE HERE Local 75 members at two airport hotels succeeded in winning the same contract standards after staging two days of action.

The Four Points Meadowvale is owned by the Silver Hotel Group, a privately held company The Silver Hotel Group has recently added two new hotels in the Toronto region to its portfolio.

UNITE HERE Local 75 is a part of an international labour union that has been fighting to raise standards for hotel workers and other service sector workers across the GTA and North America. The majority of UNITE HERE Local 75 members are women and new Canadians.

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