After filing their strike notice late last month, workers at Vancouver's Holiday Inn and Suites hotel rallied yesterday for “family-sustaining wages”, citing the high cost of living and “record room rates”. A few hundred meters away, workers at the Residence Inn hotel were in their second week on strike.

The latter were making noise at the entrance to their hotel, demanding to be heard, banging pots and pans and waving cowbells to attract attention and shouting in unison for “better wages”.

The picketing workers told North Star that they have stayed at a reduced nominal wage for the last 7 years. "Our contract was expiring, and this was our chance to speak up for our rights. But when we went to the bargaining table, they were very far from even listening to what we had to say.”

They added that “the wage that they are paying us is not a survival wage to live in this city, which is considered the [first] most expensive city to live in, [in Canada.]”

They went on to explain that they feel they are not respected for the effort they put into their work. “Sometimes we spend an hour and a half on just one room. And it's a mess. And by the end of the day, we're really, really tired."

They also mentioned instances where only 4 employees were available to make breakfast for over 400 people.

Many of the workers North Star spoke to have been working for the hotel for multiple decades, including three employees who have been at this location for over 30 years, and another for 25. “In 20 years of our history working [at] this hotel, we've never been on strike. But this time, it's gone too far.”

Residence Inn workers feel scorned by their employers, explaining that “it's how they make you feel inside and out. There's disrespect all over. Not only on [our] position, they want to display power over our class.”

“The motto of Marriott is 'People's place.' Marriott became a brand because of its people. But they're far, very far from even thinking, even trying to reach that motto anymore,” referencing Marriott's core values displayed on their website—“putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity and serving our world.”

As the fight for more suitable conditions at the Residence Inn goes on, the Sheraton Hotel workers near the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond are on their 14th month of picketing and near them, the Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport Hotel and Marina is on their third year of striking.

Both hotels have been said to have tried to intimidate workers, the Radisson Blu receiving a cease and desist order in response after it was found to have breached the BC Labour Relations Board rules in May.

Though feeling overlooked, underpaid and taken for granted, the workers are not without hope: “We're in this together, and we're not going to let this break. This is our chance. If we don't get it, we're not going to get it. We're not giving up so easy."