AIDS Support Rally Turns Ugly Outside Local Hotel
Posted August 18, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
But on Friday morning, it turned into something else – a labour dispute.
Hotel workers marched in front of the Delta Chelsea Inn just after 10am, demanding that they be allowed to wear a union button supporting the gathering.
They maintain management is being unreasonable over such a small request and complain it led to the suspension of two employees on Thursday.
“Yesterday we were suspended…by wearing the union button with the red ribbon to support the International Aids Conference,” gripes Eulalia Marcos, as she parades in front of the hotel.
At times the stand-off grew heated and police were finally called as the hotel workers and those inside the building appeared ready to go after each other. But in the end, cooler heads prevailed.
Management counters that this is all much ado about nothing.
A spokesman explains the employees were allowed to wear the symbols showing their support of the conference, but they drew the line when it came to combining it with a union button.
“We have a dress code at the hotel and the collective agreement is very clear that we authorize the use of any button ahead of time,” outlines Stephen Shamie, Delta Chelsea’s counsel.
The hotel claims all the workers understood the ground rules and agreed to abide by them – and that no one complained until Thursday.
“We didn’t agree to wearing just one button,” union rep Andrea Calber responds. “In fact, we sent them a letter saying this is the button that we’re going to wear.”
But the situation may ultimately be more about business than support. The hotel and its unionized workers are currently locked in contract negotiations.
Delegates to the AIDS Conference, which wrapped up on Friday, are furious with the dust-up.
“This particular situation is actually quite appalling,” complains Dr. Feroza Mansoor. “It’s unbelievable that you come to an International AIDS Conference in Toronto, which is first-world, where you’d think that they know better than you from Africa, that you find a situation like this.”
But after a full day of protests that the union claims saw as many as 70 workers suspended, hostility went out at the Inn.
The penalties were lifted and everybody will go back to work on Saturday. And many vow they’ll keep wearing the symbols that started it all.
Management’s response? We’ll do up that button when we come to it.
