UPDATE: Since the original posting of this letter, Luke Fielder has been reinstated as a worker at the Vancouver Hilton! Thanks to all those who called the hotel!
Dear Church Family and Friends,
Please offer special prayers this Christmas season for a worker at the Vancouver Hilton named Luke Fielder. He was fired the day after he spoke at a candlelight vigil outside the hotel and five days before Christmas. Shortly after Luke filed a complaint against the hotel with the National Labor Relations Board the hotel management began to question the paperwork for a medical diagnosis that they had known about since July. Rather than giving Luke time to get a signature from his doctor who was on vacation, they chose to fire him on the spot. This was a devastating act of retaliation for Luke and his family just days before Christmas. Today a delegation of more than 30 people that included clergy and local community members called for his immediate reinstatement.
The aim of the vigil on December 20th was to call upon Hilton to give their workers a living wage and affordable health insurance for families. Many of the workers make just $8.93 an hour with family health benefits that cost up to $366 a month. Even their counterparts in Portland, Oregon make $3 more an hour. Last year, the highest paid housekeeper made $21,117 while working more than 40 hours a week. It is estimated that a wage meeting a minimum standard of living for one adult and one child in Vancouver would be $31,714. In order to survive, workers must seek food boxes and rental assistance through the local United Way.
If you feel moved by the injustice that has happened, call the Vancouver Hilton and insist that Luke be reinstated to his job before Christmas. The number for the Vancouver Hilton is (360) 993-4500. Ask to speak with Eric Walters, the General Manager of the hotel, or Irene Christ from the Human Resources Department.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Brooks
