Windsor Best Western workers reject proposal in final offer vote

Workers at Windsor's riverfront Best Western hotel will remain on strike, after voting against the company's final offer in a vote over the last two days. 

A final offer vote is administrated by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and is a mandatory vote for workers on a deal directly from the employer.  

Unifor said in a statement Tuesday afternoon its members in Local 195 rejected the offer by 90 per cent. 

"Local 195 members will not be bullied into a contract that doesn't address their concerns," said Lana Payne, Unifor's national president, in a statement.

"It's time for the employer to begin good-faith negotiations to resolve this dispute. We're ready to get a fair deal and won't settle for anything less."

Tyler McDiarmid is CEO for Ironwood Management, which manages the hotel. 

He says the results of the vote on the final offer are "unfortunate."

"The deal we put on the table, which was our last offer, was consistent with the market. It would have put the workers in the top five per cent of comparable hotels," McDiarmid said. 

For now, he says workers will remain on strike and he's not sure when bargaining will resume. 

Voting took place from noon on Monday to noon on Tuesday. 

Unifor Local 195 represents almost 40 workers at the hotel in guest services, housekeeping and maintenance. 

Workers have been on strike since early June. Wages are at the centre of the strike, the union says.

Tensions have run high on the picket line, with the company accusing workers of assaulting a replacement worker and blocking them from entering the building.