900 Saskatoon Co-op employees ready to go on strike Thursday
Union rejects final offer that includes second pay scale for new employees
Around 900 unionized Saskatoon Co-op employees are expected to hit the picket lines this week after voting down management’s final contract offer almost two years after their last collective agreement expired. The long-running labour dispute hinges on a second pay scale for new hires, which the co-operative insists is necessary to keep wages in line with the market and the union says is unpalatable given its profitability.
In an interview Tuesday, Saskatoon Co-op chief executive officer Grant Wicks said the co-op pays its employees as much as 30 per cent more than its competitors, which is “not sustainable” over the long run.
“We’ve got the long-term financial viability of our organization at stake here. If something isn’t done about it, perhaps we would end up in a situation where we couldn’t offer goods and services to any of our members,” Wicks said.
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW ) Local 1400 President Norm Neault said Saskatoon Co-op’s recent growth and profitability suggest it should not cut the earning potential of workers who have not been hired yet.
“At the end of the day, if you truly believe — which I believe that the membership does — that there’s something that is worth fighting for, you will stand up for it …
“The issue of a second wage scale in their collective agreement is worth fighting for.”
UFCW Local 1400 represents workers at around two dozen Co-op grocery stores, gas bars and hardware stores in Saskatoon, Martensville, Warman and Colonsay. Only the co-operative’s Centre Mall food store and gas bar have different union representation.
The union issued 48-hour strike notice earlier this week after members voted approximately 65 per cent against management’s final offer. As a result, workers are expected to hit the picket lines Thursday morning, barring an eleventh-hour deal.
Wicks said job action on Thursday is up to the union as the parties are not scheduled to meet again until Friday. Neault said he is “always optimistic” that a deal can be reached and a strike averted, but said that is up to management.
The second pay scale would lower the top end of most workers’ potential earnings by up to $4.36 per hour, depending on the specific position affected, Neault said.
The highest-paid UFCW Local 1400 members — tradespeople — currently earn between $36.24 and $39.53 per hour; the lowest-paid, a group that includes various grocery clerk positions, start at $11.53.
It remains unclear how many Saskatoon Co-op locations would remain open should workers strike. Wicks said the co-operative is considering staffing with out-ofscope workers as well as temporary workers, but some locations would likely close.
According to its latest annual report, Saskatoon Co-op earned $12.1 million on revenues totalling $439.8 million last year. Over the same period, it spent $48.8 million on staffing — up from $45.5 million the previous year.
Labour disputes at co-operatives in Western Canada, whose workers are represented by multiple unions, are fairly uncommon. Saskatoon Co-op employees have not gone on strike since 1983.