Wedding Media Advisory: Locked Out Hilton Metrotown Workers Urge Wedding Planners and Couples, “Don’t Put a Ring on It at Hilton!”

WHAT: Locked out Hilton Metrotown hotel workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 40, will set up a picket line in front of a mock wedding to inform prospective newlyweds about unfair working conditions at the high-end hotel. This wedding season, locked out Hilton Vancouver Metrotown workers are urging couples who are thinking of getting married at the hotel to tie the knot somewhere else. 

WHERE: Hilton Vancouver Metrotown, 6083 McKay Avenue, Burnaby

WHEN: TODAY, February 14 @ 12:00 pm 

WHO: Locked out Hilton Metrotown workers and community allies.

WHY: The Hilton Vancouver Metrotown is a popular wedding destination for couples looking to tie the knot. While the hotel promotes itself as a socially responsible hotel, workers describe a different story behind the scenes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hilton Metrotown management terminated 97 long-term hotel housekeepers, dishwashers, cooks, servers, front desk, and other staff. Shortly afte r, they locked out the rest on April 15, 2021. The hotel wants to eliminate daily room sanitizing, which raises worker safety concerns, and is seeking major concessions. Workers have been on the picket line for 11 months.

VISUALS: Street theater featuring a picket line in front of two locked out workers dressed up as a bride and groom, who are getting married in front of the hotel. Locked out workers with hand-painted signs and a banner saying, “Don’t put a ring on it at Hilton Metrotown!”

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UNITE HERE Local 40 is the hospitality workers’ union and represents members in the hotel, food service and airport industries throughout British Columbia. Learn more at UniteHereLocal40.org.