For the first time in the province’s history, the 9,000+ employees who comprise the staffers of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario are still on strike after contract negotiations broke down more than two weeks ago.
But while most strike mandates are driven by demands for better wages and benefits and working conditions, this strike is truly an oddity. That’s because the LCBO said in a statement that the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) leadership made clear “numerous times” at the bargaining table that workers would strike “solely over their demand” that the government reverse its decision to expand the sale of ready-to-drink beverages like coolers and seltzers in grocery and convenience stores.
That’s right: this union wants a reversal in government policy, before they even get into the nitty-gritty details regarding wages and benefits. How odd…
Granted, Ontario’s Premier has justifiably earned the nickname “Flip Flop Ford” for reversing so many decisions on so many files on so many occasions upon getting even the slightest amount of blowback. But few think the PCs are going to cave on this policy — in fact, recently, the government announced it would be accelerating the distribution of such drinks into non-LCBO retail channels.
But at the end of the day, is there widespread public sympathy for such a strike, regardless of the issues at hand? Indeed, what is so bad about even slightly diluting the government liquor monopoly and opening the door to increased convenience and competition? (For the record, we would prefer the government entirely divest itself of the LCBO. Surely government’s role when it comes to alcohol is to regulate and tax this commodity, not retail it. If you agree, please sign our petition at www.SellTheLCBO.com.)
As well, it should be noted that LCBO workers already receive better wages and benefits than typical retail workers.
In any event, the LCBO staffers on the picket line we encountered at a locked-down liquor store in Oshawa, Ont., put up a brave front, saying they don’t plan to budge on their demands that the government reverse course on a policy issue.
Our prediction: if they hold true to this position, this strike is going to be a very long one indeed. And we predict the union and its membership are going to lose. Check out what the picketers had to say, and ask yourself: do they make any sense?
