ON EVE OF TORONTO PRIDE WEEKEND, FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK MANAGERS DEMAND THAT EMPLOYEES REMOVE UNION PRIDE PINS FROM THEIR UNIFORMS

THREATENS TO SEND EMPLOYEES HOME WITHOUT PAY IF THEY DO NOT COMPLY

TORONTO, June 24, 2023 /CNW/ - On Friday afternoon, as Toronto Pride Weekend 2023 was getting underway, Fairmont Royal York managers began approaching employees wearing union pins with the pride rainbow and demanding that they remove them from their uniforms. Managers informed employees that they would be sent home without pay if they refused to remove the pin.

The action follows Fairmont Royal York management sending all of the hosts working at the hotel's restaurants and bars home without pay last June 1^st for refusing to remove another union pin on that day.  The union ? the Toronto Hospitality Employees Union/ CSN ? alleges that Fairmont Royal York management's actions violate the rights of the workers at the hotel.

LGBTQ2S+ members of the union subsequently proposed that employees assert their rights over Pride Weekend by wearing their union pin with the Pride Rainbow.  Again, management demanded people remove their pins or be sent home without pay.

A complaint has already been filed at the Ontario Labour Relations Board for the incident on June 1. The union will be following this up with an additional complaint dealing with Friday's actions by Fairmont/Accor management.

The parent company of the Fairmont Royal York, Paris-based Accor S.A., only recently in 2021 added 'LGBTQ+ inclusion' as a "new pillar of their 'Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategy.'"

"Pride Weekend in Toronto is about expressing yourself free from any kind of fear or intimidation," says Ashley Hayes, Secretary-Treasurer of the union. "I just don't understand why Fairmont Royal York management cannot let their workers express themselves. I would think that they would celebrate this."

The THEU-CSN is currently in negotiations for a first collective agreement for the hosts and the front desk workers at the iconic Toronto hotel who voted overwhelmingly to unionize last year.

The Toronto Hospitality Employees Union (THEU?CSN) was born out of a need to create a strong union controlled entirely by ourselves, the hospitality workers of the GTA. The union is affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents more than 330,000 workers in all sectors of the economy.

SOURCE Toronto Hospitality Employees Union ? CSN