Liquor workers’ strike action set to resume

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/07/2023 (1162 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Liquor Mart employees represented by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) will be heading back to the picket line tomorrow and Thursday, while distribution centre workers in Winnipeg are scheduled to strike over the next three days.

Even though the union resumed collective bargaining with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) this past Friday — after staging walkouts throughout the week — MGEU president Kyle Ross says that negotiations broke down once again, necessitating further strike action.

“They came to the table with the exact same offer … so we had no other choice but to take further action,” Ross told the Sun Monday morning over the phone. “We’re trying to get a fair deal at the table, but this employer doesn’t want to bargain.”

Ross specified that the MBLL’s current offer of a yearly two per cent wage increase between 2022 and 2025 does not keep pace with the rate of inflation and rising cost of goods, which is putting their workers in a tight spot financially.

The union president mentioned that this offer is extra insulting given the fact that Premier Heather Stefanson and members of her cabinet are getting a 3.3 per cent wage increase this year and an estimated 3.6 per cent in 2024-25 due to their salaries being tied to inflation.

“I want to say very clearly that MGEU members do not think your raises are unfair,” Ross wrote in an accompanying letter to Stefanson.

“What is unfair is that, while taking these raises, you are offering your own direct employees wage increases which are less than half of what you are taking. What is also unfair is that you are imposing a restrictive wage mandate, with increases well below what you are taking, on workers across the provincial public sector.”

A MBLL spokesperson responded to the Sun’s request for comment via email, stating that the union’s characterization of the most recent offer is misleading.

The deal they presented on Friday also includes an increase to starting wages and other pay scale adjustments, which are meant to address increases to Manitoba’s minimum wage.

“In short, MBLL’s offer entails more than an increase of only two per cent over four years on wages, regardless of MGEU’s statement to that effect,” the spokesperson wrote.

The recent back-and-forth negotiations between MGEU and MBLL have been ongoing since May 16, when the employer presented the union with a new collective agreement, their previous contract having expired on March 24, 2022.

The MGEU rejected this May 16 offer and voted in favour of a strike mandate in late June.

The union ultimately followed through on its promise of province-wide strike action last Wednesday, resulting in around 1,400 workers walking off the job.

This includes the roughly 90 MGEU-represented employees who work at the four Liquor Mart stores located throughout Brandon.

When the Sun visited these local picket lines last Wednesday, MGEU members could be seen sporting signs that read “Catch Up, Keep Up” and “Fine Wine and Fair Wages – A Perfect Pairing.”

A sign on the door of the 1015 Victoria Ave. location stated that the 1645 18th St. store was the only location open Wednesday, with the Victoria, 18th Street North and the express location in the west end Sobeys all shuttered for the day.

In terms of why the union is choosing to employ day-by-day strike action rather than a longer, sustained period of employee walkouts, Ross said that they don’t want to disproportionately impact everyday Manitobans who want to pick up a case of beer or enjoy a bottle of wine.

“We don’t have to starve them of liquor. We can let them enjoy their summer,” he said.

“Because, really, our summers are short, we have some nice weather coming this week and we want Manitobans to be able to buy products from MBLL.”

However, Ross isn’t counting out the possibility of triggering a lengthier, sustained strike moving forward, depending on how negotiations with the MBLL develop in the coming weeks.

“That would be really impactful on Manitobans … but our goal is to get a deal at the table,” he said. “And we’d end this tomorrow if they come with something fair. It’s just really unfortunate that we can’t get a fair deal at the table.”

In MBLL’s Monday email to the Sun, the spokesperson maintains that their most recent offer to the union is fair and that they’ve been negotiating in good faith throughout this entire process.

The spokesperson also voiced concerns about how the union’s day-by-day strike strategy will affect MBLL’s customers and commercial partners if a resolution isn’t reached soon.

“Despite the MGEU claiming their best intentions to not impact Manitobans’ summer, MBLL’s contingency plans will soon be unable to entirely mitigate the negative downstream effects to the hospitality industry and summer festivals, the hundreds of private liquor retailers who will not receive deliveries and on customers across the province when stores are closed or operating with limited inventory,” the email read.

In addition to striking throughout the next three days, Ross stated that all MBLL employees represented by MGEU will continue to refuse all overtime until a new deal is ironed out.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson