Talks continue today as Co-op workers strike
Some residents respect pickets but others cross to shop, gas up
A few drivers honked and waved as half a dozen Saskatoon Co-op employees walked a picket line outside a gas station in Saskatoon’s Blairmore neighbourhood, carrying signs and wearing winter coats to ward off the cold morning drizzle.
Other drivers chose to cross the picket line and fill up their vehicles at the beginning of what promised to be a busy day for the two managers tasked with keeping the gas station running during Saskatoon Co-op employees’ first strike in 35 years.
The scene was similar across town at the retail co-operative’s Attridge Drive grocery store, where dozens more United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1400 members walked the picket line as managers and out-of-scope staff kept the store running.
Heather Hails, who described herself as a lifelong co-op customer and a fan of the company’s membership rewards and “friendly” staff, said she considered going into the store.
But she ultimately decided against it and headed elsewhere for groceries.
“It’s probably good for them. Maybe I shouldn’t go in,” Hails said of the roughly two dozen UFCW Local 1400 members assigned to picket the store, one of several operating with reduced hours during the strike, which began Thursday morning.
The union, which has been without a contract since late 2016, issued 48-hour strike notice earlier this week after negotiations with management stalled over a proposed lower wage tier for new hires. Each side blames the other for the strike.
While Saskatoon Co-op insists capping wages for new employees is necessary for financial sustainability, the union local says the move targets people who have not yet been hired with pay cuts of up to $4.36 per hour.
The union has also pointed out that Saskatoon Co-op is profitable, with earnings of $12.1 million on $439.8 million in revenue last year.
Several Saskatoon Co-op employees opted to break ranks and cross the picket line on Thursday. One worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said management’s offer was fair and will keep the company afloat.
“It’s inevitable. Co-op is going to get it one way or another,” the employee said, adding that keeping a good job over the long term was more important than striking over a wage proposal that is “needed” to preserve the co-operative.
“I have loyalty to my family, to provide for them,” the employee added.
Management and union representatives are set to meet Friday, but UFCW Local 1400 president Norm Neault — who was walking a picket line on the city ’s west side Thursday morning — said it was unclear how long the strike will last.
“Certainly, there’s been no discussion by the employer to move on their position at all,” Neault said, adding that the final offer was “not acceptable” and “unpalatable,” and that while a resolution would be optimal, members are prepared for the long haul.
“We’ll look at offers that are put in front of us.”
Saskatoon Co-op CEO Grant Wicks declined to comment on whether the co-operative was prepared to move from its last negotiating position, but said, “We will go to the bargaining table with the best of intentions and we’ll see how the negotiations move forward.”
“We are continuing to bargain. Both parties are still talking,” Wicks added.
At least some of the people staffing Saskatoon Co-op locations on Thursday were “management employees” of Federated Cooperatives Limited, the umbrella organization owned by retail cooperatives across Western Canada, who volunteered to help.
Volunteer work is part of Saskatoon Co-op’s business continuity plan and “many” chose to do so, FCL spokesman Carey Tufts said.
Labour disputes and job actions at co-operatives in Western Canada, whose workers are represented by multiple unions, are understood to be fairly uncommon.
Employees of Saskatoon Coop have not gone on strike since 1983.