YVR Janitors, members of SEIU Local 2, set to strike on Friday

Over 200 hundred attended Saturday’s practice picket at the airport

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Over 200 janitors that clean Vancouver’s international airport are set to walk off the job on Friday. Workers have been without a contract since the end of September and Alpine Building Maintenance, the cleaners’ employer, has refused to offer janitors wages that keep up with rising costs in negotiations with SEIU Local 2, the workers’ union. The cleaners say they have been left with no choice but to strike. The company and Labour Board were provided with the required notice yesterday.

“As a new dad with a newborn baby, I would love to spend more time at home with my family,” says Razwan Hossain Rifat, one of the Alpine cleaners. “But I work two jobs at the airport because it is impossible to pay all expenses with one job.”

Hossain Rifat is not alone in working two jobs at the airport. In fact, it is not uncommon to find Alpine cleaners in the same situation.

“I work two full-time jobs at the airport so I can support my family,” says Normilita Manuel, another Alpine employee. She’s been at the airport for over five years. “Their offer is not enough to live in this city. That’s why many of us are forced to work multiple jobs just to survive.”

Workers are seeking $25 per hour, which they say is a step in the right direction. They are also seeking retirement security. Studies have shown that CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) and OAS (Old Age Security) are not enough to live on. Seniors shouldn’t be forced to keep working because stopping is a poverty-sentence.

The World Airport Awards recognized YVR as the best in North America in 2024. Tamara Vrooman, President & CEO at YVR says that it’s a result of the dedication and hard work of employees and everyone working at YVR. She says the recognition belongs to them and wants to acknowledge and thank them for all their work this past year.¹

“Thanks” however, doesn’t pay the bills, say workers. They say they need a fair contract.

SEIU believes it’s within YVR’s power to ensure cleaners at their airport can work one full-time job to adequately provide for their families and provide retirement security.

Other service workers at the airport already earn the hourly wage janitors are seeking.

“We know what other contractors at YVR are being paid,” says Varinder Singh, an Alpine employee working the graveyard shift. “We know the airport relies on our hard work and we deserve to be treated with justice.”

Food service workers at YVR recently signed a contract that brings all workers with at least five years of service to $25 per hour and provides a pathway for employees with less service to reach $25 by October 2025.

Picket lines are set to go up on Friday December 20, 2024, at 7 am.

Saturday Rally

For most cleaners, this will be their first strike. A practice picket was organized on Saturday at the airport and over 200 workers and their supporters attended, including janitors from other parts of the city.

“I used one of my paid personal days to support my fellow union members here at the airport because their fight is all of our fight,” said Irene Resultay, a cleaner at a mall in Burnaby. “Rent for a one-bedroom costs more than half of our paycheck. The second paycheck goes to our hydro bill, internet bill, telephone bill, and we still need to find money for groceries. We have seniors working, even though they want to retire because they can’t afford to stop.”

A video of the rally is available on Vimeo.

The janitors also posted a video last week after their December 1 strike vote on TikTok @seiulocal2, which has been viewed nearly 150 thousand times and has almost 12 thousand likes. Vimeo link.

SEIU Local 2 represents 20,000 workers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We are proud members of the largest, fastest growing, and most dynamic union in North America.

Media Contact:

Reyna Villasin
604-360-3061
rvillasin@seiulocal2.ca