Colonial Williamsburg workers unanimously vote to ratify new union contract with significant raises and benefits

Following months of negotiations, workers at Colonial Williamsburg voted unanimously on Wednesday, December 22 to ratify their new contract. The contract is a near-complete re-write of the previous one, affecting almost every aspect of the work UNITE HERE Local 25 members perform at Colonial Williamsburg’s hotels and restaurants.  The contract language, which the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and union negotiators agreed to on Tuesday afternoon, “is a direct result of union members’ tireless organizing and persistence over the past several months,” said Local 25. Over the course of the campaign, Local 25 members had countless conversations with co-workers, organized petitions, delegations, rallies, picket lines, leafletted outside their places of work, and called for a boycott of the properties where they had a labor dispute.  “Workers stood up for the rights and respect they deserve, and they won,” said Local 25. Following Wednesday’s ratification, the union has lifted its boycott of the properties where it had a labor dispute.  “We have said throughout this campaign that teaching history should not mean re-living it at work,” said John Boardman, Executive-Secretary Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25. “Now, our members can take pride in the fact that they have won 21st Century working conditions at Colonial Williamsburg.” 

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