Fourth Vancouver hotel wins noise fight with striking workers
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2019 02:42:28 +0000
The Rosewood Hotel Georgia in downtown Vancouver is the latest to win the right to block striking workers from using sirens, loud drums and noisemakers at the picket line.
Unionized workers have been on strike outside the Hotel Georgia (at Georgia and Howe) since Sept 22. The Pinnace Hotel Harbourfront (on Hastings between Thurlow and Bute), Hyatt Regency (on Burrard between Dunsmuir and Georgia) and Westin Bayshore (on the water at the top end of Cardero) have been behind picket lines since Sept. 19.
On Oct. 2, it was ruled that strikers outside the Pinnacle, Hyatt and Bayshore could not use devices like horns, sirens and whistles on the picket line and could not impede the movement of people and vehicles on hotel premises.
In a ruling released Friday, Supreme Court of B.C. Justice Nitya Iyer said the Oct. 2 ruling was different to the one presented to her by the Hotel Georgia because its striking workers were not impeding traffic. This case was simply the employee trying to get the nuisance noise bans in place similar to the other three hotels.
According to Iyer’s ruling in favour of the employer, the hotel claimed that five days after the strike began a security worker was injured by a long horn blow directly into his ear. It also claimed that Vancouver police had asked the strikers to stop using sirens and that the noise was occurring from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
Unite Here Local 40 (representing the workers), claimed sounds above 85 decibels were considered harmful, while the City of Vancouver’s noise bylaw prohibited continuous sound above 70 decibels. Based on sound evidence presented by the hotel’s private investigator, Iyer ruled sound levels exceeded 85 decibels 83 per cent of the time.
Iyer noted the union had the legal right to “bring economic pressure to bear on an employer during a lawful strike,” but ruled the use of sirens, drums, air horns, whistles, speakers and megaphones was banned. Iyer also banned playing pre-recorded music or messages at louder than 75 decibels (measured 6 metres from the source.)
It’s unknown what financial pressure the pickets have had on the four high-end hotels, or whether that had led to more business for other hotels.
The 1,200 hotel workers have been on strike for almost a month, but have been working without a collective agreement since June 2018.
The Greater Vancouver Hotel Employers Association represents all four hotels, while Hotel Georgia workers belong to one bargaining unit of Unite Here Local 40 and the other three hotels another.
The employer is offering wage hikes (15 per cent over four years), while the workers are more interested in better hours and conditions.