More than 200 staff at Vancouver’s high-end Arbutus Club walked off the job Tuesday, demanding higher wages amid Metro Vancouver’s ongoing affordability crisis.
The strike affects a wide range of positions including food servers, lifeguards, maintenance staff and laundry attendants at the members-only facility, which counts Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini among its clientele.
“The affordability crisis is front and centre with this labour dispute,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “The Arbutus Club caters to the city’s wealthiest clientele. Surely it can afford to pay the employees a decent, liveable wage.”
The private club, which reportedly charges tens of thousands of dollars in initiation fees, saw negotiations break down on April 25 when the parties reached an impasse specifically on wages.
Union representatives say employee compensation has failed to keep pace with inflation and Vancouver’s rapidly rising cost of living.
“We encourage the members at the Arbutus Club to contact the board and the CEO to demand fair wages for the people who provide them with top quality service,” said Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle. “This dispute can end tomorrow with a fair offer from the employer.”
The job action comes as service industry workers across the region face increasing economic pressure from housing costs and general inflation.
Unifor Local 3000 represents the affected employees. The union is Canada’s largest in the private sector with 320,000 members nationwide.
