A strike may be looming at one of Squamish's main grocery stores. More than one year since a contract dispute pit employees of the Extra Foods in Highlands Centre against owner/operator Craig Woida and parent company Westfair Foods, workers have taken a strike vote resulting in 95 per cent in favour of picketing.
"We're fighting for our part-timers; they're the big losers in this," said the store's shop steward, Fred Avis.Workers are currently holding an information picket, taking turns handing out flyers at the store's entrance appealing to shoppers not to enter until their employer begins negotiating "in good faith." Workers don't stop people from entering, and understand that some are filling prescriptions, said Avis.
"We've already experienced tremendous support from the community," said Avis outside the store early Tuesday afternoon (May 30). "Right now the store is dead."
Avis said employees are willing to follow in the footsteps of the Extra Foods in West Vancouver's Park Royal where employees have been on strike over the same issues for four months.
The workers took a strike vote last week after the employer proposed concessions aimed at reducing benefits, according to Avis. The union opposes the employer's rescinding of the "accumulated time off" program in which employees pay one dollar an hour from their wage in exchange for up to 12 paid weeks off annually. The employer also wants to change the balance of junior clerks to senior clerks from 50/50 to 75/25. That means 75 per cent of employees would have no possibility of full time benefits and would be making around $8.50 an hour, a wage they can't live on, said Avis.
"It's unacceptable that large corporations making record profits in a booming B.C. economy would force kids to take two and three jobs just to make ends meet," said Avis.
"Shoppers should take note of that."
In a letter posted at the Extra Foods entrance, Woida states the union is demanding that he pay $23 an hour to top-rated employees who already get $20 an hour. He said the increase in retail competition and Wal-Mart's recent announcement that it will bring non-union grocery "Supercentres" to Canada makes it impossible for him to concede to the union's demands.
"this is not the time for the union to be demanding excessive wage increases that will jeopardize the future of the store and the employment of everyone involved," states the letter. "All I can do is try to be as competitive as possible in price, in product selection and customer service. I believe the package of wages and benefits is generous given the circumstances we face."
Negotiations continued after press time on Thursday (June 1) and Avis said he expects no movement on the part of the employer. Woida said he hopes the matter doesn't come to a full strike.
