Did you catch the great photo of Martin Sheen donning a Unite-Here Strike placard this weekend in support of Toronto’s unionized hotel workers? Unite-Here is the union that represents around 7000 hotel workers in the GTA, including workers at several major Toronto hotels, including the Royal York and the Hyatt Regency. The bargaining units’ 
contracts expired at different times over the past 6 months, and bargaining has been ongoing, but no new collective agreement has been reached. Here is a video of Martin Sheen speaking to the workers. He tells the workers the actors will leave the hotel if the union asks them to do so. So far the union hasn’t.
The Union is using the Toronto Film Festival to raise the profile of their attempt to bargain better working conditions, and many of the actors (who are also union members) are supportive of the cause. Rather than go out on a full strike, though, the union has opted for rotating one day strikes at the different hotels to pressure the employer. I assume that the union is in a legal strike position (that the government has issued a “no board” report and the waiting period is over (see my earlier post about the strike at York explaining the preconditions for a legal strike). Once the union is in a legal strike position, they can go out on a full strike, or do partial strikes, or do “work to rules” or slowdowns. All of these things are considered strikes under our law.
On the other hand, the employer can also lockout the workers. They can lock them out for one day, or two days, or indefinitely. If the employer locks out the workers, then the workers can’t come to work, and they don’t get paid. The employer can also change the terms of employment instead of locking out the workers, since the collective agreement has expired.
A strike threat is a serious one for the hotels during the festival, as it was during the G20 and Pride, when the hotels are packed and lots of attention is on them. Once these major events are over, and winter settles in, the threat, while still real, will have less dramatic impact.
If you were the union members, would you support a complete strike at all of the hotels during the film festival, for maximum impact on the employer, unless the employer makes some serious concessions quickly?
