Talks between the LCBO and its workers have broken down just hours ahead of a midnight strike deadline, setting the stage for the first strike in the liquor monopoly’s history.
“Tonight, Ford’s dry summer begins,” said bargaining committee chair Colleen MacLeod at a news conference Thursday evening. “More than 9,000 LCBO workers will be out on strike as of 12:01 a.m.”
In an earlier press release shortly after 5 p.m. the Ontario Public Service Employees Union said, “After a long week at the bargaining table, talks have broken down and we are not hopeful a deal can be reached at this time,” OPSEU said.
The union reiterated at Thursday’s news conference that the fundamental issue is job security, expressing concern that thousands of jobs will be lost in the coming years due to the government’s expansion plans for alcohol sales in the province.
“We haven’t even got to the wages and benefits portion of it … that’s not what this is about,” MacLeod said. “If we don’t have a job on the go-forward, a wage increase really doesn’t make much of a difference.”
OPSEU president J.P. Hornick said the union has a “very healthy strike fund” and that “we can weather a strike as long as necessary.”
Hornick said unhappy Ontarians should voice their displeasure directly to Premier Doug Ford.
“We see this as an existential crisis for the LCBO,” Hornick said. “Do we want to have a public provider of alcohol as we’ve had for the last hundred years, or are we just moving into a wild west private model?”
A government source familiar with the negotiations blasted the union’s bargaining tactics.
“If there’s no deal tonight, it’s because OPSEU has been almost exclusively focused on discussing the sale of ready-to-drink beverages and nothing else (i.e., wages, benefits, job security),” the source said.
“The government was elected twice on the commitment to expand the sale of alcoholic beverages to convenience and grocery stores, and the government is delivering on that promise.”
Earlier Thursday afternoon, sources familiar with negotiations said the two sides were still far apart, with several major issues — including job security — not even having been discussed in detail yet.
“The province is sticking to its guns,” one source said.
OPSEU has repeatedly criticized the provincial government’s decision to open up Ontario’s alcohol retail market, arguing that it puts LCBO jobs and profits at risk, while helping private retailers, including grocery and big box stores, as well as convenience stores.
“Front-line LCBO workers are proud that the revenues we help to generate give back to their communities, and we won’t back down in our fight for a strong future for the LCBO and the public services funded by LCBO revenues,” MacLeod told the Star earlier this week. “Without a strong commitment to that future, we will have to strike.”
The union also says that 70 per cent of LCBO workers are “casual,” meaning they have no guaranteed hours, benefits or sick pay. The LCBO, meanwhile, argued that at least 50 per cent of casual employees are guaranteed at least 1,000 hours per year.
The union says LCBO wages range from $17.65 an hour to roughly $30. The LCBO says the range for customer service representatives goes from $17.85 to $32.58.
Colin Blachar, a spokesperson for Ontario’s finance minister, said in an email that it’s “disappointing that OPSEU could be heading toward an unnecessary strike that threatens people’s ability to enjoy their summers. It’s never been more clear that Ontario consumers need and deserve the same choice and convenience every other Canadian enjoys.
“We will not be privatizing the LCBO. The LCBO will continue to be a publicly owned retailer, as well as operating as the exclusive wholesaler for all retail, bars and restaurants selling alcohol and spirits.”
Liberal MPP Stephen Blais, the party’s critic for labour issues, called on the government to make a deal.
“LCBO workers deserve job security, livable wages and fair treatment. Doug Ford needs to do the right thing and come to a fair deal that respects workers, keeps Ontario working and doesn’t disrupt the lives of hardworking Ontarians,” Blais said in a written statement. “We know OPSEU workers are at the table ready to bargain for a fair deal, the government needs to do the same.”
“The chaos in the beverage industry is entirely the Ford government’s doing, and now Ontarians are the ones paying for it,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
“The premier’s rush to get beer into corner stores without proper planning or consultation has upended the industry and raised workers’ fears about job security in an uncertain future,’ said Schreiner, adding “the Ford government needs to step up and ensure that workers get a fair deal that protects jobs and provides stability in a changing industry.”
The LCBO has said all its stores will be closed for two weeks if there’s a strike, but that 30 would reopen July 19, for limited shopping every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It also said online ordering would still be available in the event of a strike, but said details wouldn’t be available until a strike begins.
It’s a more complicated set of negotiations than typical contract talks, where the main bone of contention is strictly money, argued labour relations professor Rafael Gomez.
“Because of all the changes in alcohol retailing, the union knows that there will be fewer workers at the LCBO by 2030. And likely, fewer LCBO stores,” said Gomez, director of U of T’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.
“The government is going to push the union to either have high wages in return for less job security, or low wages and higher job security,” Gomez said. “Either way, through attrition or store closures, the government will have fewer LCBO outlets and fewer LCBO employees by 2030.”
