VANCOUVER—To Jasmine Mooney, the paintings and neon signs displayed around her nightclub are artwork, but to a local hospitality-workers’ union, they objectify women and create a hostile work environment. Wandering around her nightclub located in the basement of Hotel Belmont in downtown Vancouver, the distraught owner points to the installations she’s been harshly criticized for in the past several weeks. They include drawings of women’s breasts on the ceilings in the men’s and women’s bathrooms, neon signs in the shape of human buttocks on the bathroom doors, a neon sign with the words “I f------ love to f--- you,” an image of a naked woman leaning into a car window displayed on a wall, and a neon sign that says “be naked when I get home,” on the third floor of the hotel. The images have caused an uproar with Unite Here Local 40. Its members and “community allies” have protested outside Mooney’s bar The Living Room on the ground floor of the hotel at the heart of the Granville Entertainment District. Mooney’s company, At Home Hospitality, also operates the nightclub under The Living Room, called The Basement.The union’s concern over the images are at the centre of a human rights complaint submitted last week with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, in which they say the images “objectify and demean women.” The complaint is being screened by the tribunal, and only complaints that contain possible incidents of discrimination will be accepted. According to Sharan Pawa, communications specialist for the union, as many as four protests have taken place outside Hotel Belmont, lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Mooney called the protests “aggressive” tactics and said they have gone too far, noting that they have nearly caused fights with guests and neighbours. Mooney said some of her staff members have told management that the protests have caused t ...
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