Strike of over 200 janitors at Vancouver airport officially ends

Strike of over 200 janitors at Vancouver International Airport officially ends

Striking janitors at Vancouver International Airport, December 2024. (SEIU Local 2)

In both 2023 and 2024, Skytrax’s annual World Airport Awards recognized YVR as the cleanest airport in North America.

But if the cleanliness and tidiness of the terminal facilities at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have seemed a bit off over the past week, there’s a reason for it — beyond the fact that this is one of the busiest times of the year for travel.

Starting on the evening of Thursday, December 19, those responsible for day-to-day cleanliness at the terminal building walked off the job, escalating a labour dispute that had been building up since early this fall, when their previous contract expired.

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These 233 janitors clean nearly the entire airport, including the terminals, washrooms, hallways, exterior, YVR operations, and before and beyond security checkpoints.

However, at 8:30 am today, SEIU Local 2, the union representing YVR’s janitors, announced that a tentative agreement had been reached with the employer, Alpine Building Maintenance. As a result of this tentative agreement, the union’s plans to further escalate the strike today, Christmas Eve, December 24, have been cancelled.

Then just after 3 pm today, the strike came to an official end when the union’s membership voted in favour of the new deal, and normal operations resumed with employees welcomed back to work.

“Alpine Building Maintenance is pleased to confirm that our employees represented by the SEIU union at the Vancouver International Airport, have voted in favour of the collective agreement, effectively ending the strike, and bringing a resolution to the negotiations,” said Leta Hill, COO of Alpine Building Maintenance, in a statement this afternoon.

“We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of all parties throughout this process, and we appreciate the employees in voting to ratify this new agreement. We worked together to reach an agreement that supports the interests of our employees while maintaining the standards of service that passengers at YVR expect and deserve.”

Ahead of the strike, the union indicated that it was seeking an increased wage of $25 per hour, an overnight shift premium, and improved retirement security.

Under the new deal that was secured, every janitor will have a wage of at least $25 per hour or higher in 2025. There will be a raise of $1.29 per hour in April 2025, bringing pay to $24.55 per hour, followed by a second wage hike in October reaching $25 and additional raises in 2026. On top of the raises, there will be a new premium pay for lead hands and hours worked overnight.

During the negotiations, the union also sought to gain improved retirement security for their members beyond what is provided by the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. But the union indicated this afternoon they will be “back at the table in two years to fight for retirement security because our seniors shouldn’t be forced to keep working.”

They also highlighted that food service workers at YVR signed a new contract earlier this fall, which guarantees all workers with at least five years of service $25 per hour and establishes a pathway for employees with less service to reach $25 per hour by October 2025.

However, workers for YVR’s jet fuel operations have remained on strike since earlier this month. Vancouver Airport Authority has indicated there has been no disruption in their jet fuel supply to date.

Striking janitors at Vancouver International Airport, December 2024. (SEIU Local 2)

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the union membership has voted in favour of the new deal.

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