LCBO Workers and supporters hold a strike rally at a picket line in front of an LCBO store, in Toronto on Saturday, July 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher KatsarovChristopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
A tentative agreement has been reached between the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and its unionized employees that could see retail stores reopen as soon as Tuesday, after a last-minute dispute over details cast doubt over the resolution of the weeks-long strike.
The union representing LCBO workers said in a news release Saturday morning that its members received details of a deal Friday evening and would vote to ratify it over the weekend. Voting closes at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Pending ratification, the Crown corporation said the strike could end at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
Since the strike began on July 5, more than 660 LCBO stores have been closed, causing a ripple effect of challenges for restaurants, bars and events like summer weddings. The 10,000 unionized employees who walked off the job cited fears of job losses due to the provincial government’s plan to expand alcohol sales to allow convenience stores and all grocery stores to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails.
On Saturday, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said in a statement that the tentative deal would protect public revenues and provide more permanent jobs with benefits and guaranteed hours.
“The workers have made it clear to Ontarians that Doug Ford’s alcohol-everywhere plan directly threatened jobs and public revenues. While this round of bargaining isn’t over until the deal is ratified, I’m incredibly proud of the workers and the stand they’ve taken,” said Colleen MacLeod, chair of the union’s bargaining team.
This tentative resolution comes after a previous settlement reached on Friday afternoon was thrown into question when the LCBO accused the union of “bad faith bargaining” and said it planned to file an unfair labour practice complaint due to the union introducing new monetary demands after the tentative agreement was signed.
Union casts doubt on agreement to end LCBO strike
Union president JP Hornick, who uses the pronoun they, said this turn of events was unexpected and the demands were actually a draft document that was sent to the employer to counter, as part of standard procedure.
Meanwhile, the union expressed concerns about its employer’s unwillingness to sign a back-to-work protocol that laid out the logistics associated with the process and financials of returning to work.
The LCBO said on Saturday that both sides had signed off on the return-to-work protocol.
While the corporation said it looks forward to welcoming shoppers back to stores on Tuesday, Hornick said they expect there to be some bumps in the road as workers will only have Monday to ensure stores are restocked and ready.
“It’s a concern and that’s why, in part, the return-to-work protocol was so important. Because how do you do this stuff safely when you don’t know what you’re going back into?” the union president said.
Details of the tentative agreement were released by the LCBO on Friday evening.
They include a wage increase of eight per cent over three years – up from seven per cent in the original offer on July 4 – and improved benefits and severance provisions. The agreement also promises to convert 1,000 employees from casual to permanent part-time, and hire an additional 60 permanent part-time workers.
As the province’s alcohol expansion plans are set to continue, the settlement also makes it clear that no LCBO retail stores will close due to marketplace development, so long as the agreement is alive. A cap on the number of agency stores, independent retailers that sell LCBO products, is also part of the deal.
This agreement is being made at a turning point in the province’s alcohol sales industry and will play a key role in testing the government’s expansion of the market, Hornick said.
“We have a commitment to engage in discussions about how to modernize the LCBO and make sure it remains a robust competitor in this new environment. And it also means time to test whether this accelerated privatization scheme even works or if Ontarians are interested in it,” they said.
May Brand, owner of Sweaty Betty’s bar in Toronto, said she’s happy a tentative deal has been reached, but is frustrated to learn stores could be reopening just as she finishes stocking her shelves from alternative retailers.
With her bar’s busiest day around the corner on July 27 during the street festival OssFest, Ms. Brand said she panicked when the strike began and had to act fast because she didn’t know when it would end.
“We ran out pretty quickly and it’s not easy to get liquor through any other distributor in Ontario,” she said.
Normally, tequila and triple sec are her bar’s most-used spirits to keep up with the high demand for margaritas in the summer. However, Ms. Brand said, with the LCBO closed, she was forced to stock up on whatever was available from local distillers, which can cost double.
“I had to plan ahead because of the festival and because of that, we had to spend money we didn’t have,” she said.