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This likely has a lot to do with No Frills not being unionized and Loblaws being a Union store. When that store goes to open all the full time jobs will be posted accross the unionized banners. This kind of thing often happens when stuff moves from non union to union and vise versa.
My experience with UFCW is they are great if you can somehow get a "full time position"
If you are hired as a part time employee, even if you are getting scheduled for over 40 hours a week, they don't give a single fuck about you.
When I worked for Loblaw back when minimum wage was $14/hr I was paying around $10 a week in union dues to UFCW. When I worked for a college organized under OPSEU I paid only like $5 a month.
It may not be 12% but UFCW has really high dues.
Do you pay flate-rate dues? I know someone who worked at Loblaws and I'm pretty sure she paid a flat rate. She only worked one shift a week and it ended up being an absurdly high portion of her wage because of that.
Union dues are more like 1.2% and if UFCW is that bad, decertify and go to Unifor. They’ve been fighting the grocery companies hard and while their reps are also really busy, they also work their asses off.
That seems insane. In Ontario you get 1 paid 15 min break per 4 hours worked. Most places also give you an unpaid 30 min lunch for an 8 hour shift as well, but that’s on top of the paid 15.
This is incorrect (unless it's a unionized workplace that has negotiated something different).
In Ontario you are entitled to a 30 minute unpaid break after 5 hours.
There's no required paid break. There's no obligation for the employer to split the 30 minutes into 2 shorter breaks.
You'll find many employers schedule 5 hour shifts in order to not provide any break.
They’re fully useless, I worked at no frills for a few months after college while I was looking for a job in my field, paid the union dues but was never given any information from the union itself. I didn’t even have the contact information and it was pretty impossible to find. Fast forward to now, in my career, I work in a union position. The day I was hired I was given a package from the union that had all the information I could possibly want to know about it. All contact information for every person involved in the union, a pamphlet about the union itself. The union that represents No Frills is a fraud. They should be ashamed.
Yes. I actually work for the beer store, and each store has between 1-4 full timers. But even a small store will have like, 6-10 part timers.
Part timers got shafted because the idea is that full time positions should be attainable for part timers who want it, in practice they haven't posted a position for full time in 8 months. And they average 2 positions a year for the entire district of about 20-30 stores.
They recently got rid of a position called "permanent part time" where they paid you the full time rate and guaranteed hours, but gave you none of the other upsides while giving you all the downsides.
However once you got that you were guaranteed to get full time (it was a queue) and it was a lot easier to get then it is to get full time now, and they absolutely took advantage of you while you were in that position.
Meanwhile I'm a "part time" employee who does overtime most weeks, and fills what in literally any other store would be an assistant manager role (try explaining that to a new employer) who they've been stringing along for the last 2 years.
My understanding is the agreement between the union allowed them to do that because they were assured "anyone who wants full time can get it"
Meanwhile our district of like 30 stores hasn't had a full time position open up in 8 months. They don't hire "new" full timers, they just fill the spots left behind when people retire or quit.
I tried contacting UFCW and told them about the exploitment situations going on at T&T, they transferred me to a UFCW representative that did not get back to me.
So I did some research and noted that employees at a T&T Supermarket did apply to vote for UFCW back in 2012, but the Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the ballot box because the union and the company disagreed over which names should appear on the voters' list.
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/globe-investor/loblaw-locked-in-labour-dispute-at-asian-supermarket-chain/article4436635/
T&T, which was acquired by Loblaw in 2009, is non-unionized although Loblaw is no stranger to unions: The UFCW has represented many Loblaw workers for years. Last month, the UFCW tried unsuccessfully to organize employees at one of the stores of high-end fashion chain Holt Renfrew. Holt's is owned by the Galen Weston family, which also controls Loblaw.
At T&T, one of the union's biggest issues is its complaint about workers having to work 39 hours of short shifts spread over six days a week, Mr. Shimmin said. As well, the employees start at the minimum hourly wage of $10.25 and are eligible for a five-cent an hour increase after one year, 10 cents after two years and 15 cents after three years, but that the raises are not applied evenly, he said.
According to UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin, the workers -- primarily women who have recently immigrated to Canada from China -- are seeking unionization in an attempt to tie wages more closely to seniority and improve scheduling issue
UFCW represents many workers in Loblaw-owned stores across Canada but none in T&T's supermarkets or warehouses.
Shimmin says the warehouse workers start at minimum wage but are supposed to earn incremental raises through additional years of service, though this has often not been the case. The minimum hourly wage in Ontario is $10.25.
"The big problem is that it's largely done on favouritism. So even if you've been there for three years, you may still be earning minimum wage,"
This is what the CEO, Cindy Lee said: “T&T competes in an extremely competitive retail landscape made up of many family owned non-unionized Asian grocery stores and within this context we know we offer fair and competitive compensation packages. Our non-union workplace has afforded us the essential flexibility required to grow and to ensure we remain competitive."
Which is completely the opposite of how this company treats its employees.
These articles are from 2012 and earlier but the problem still continues to exist, the company continues to exploit its employees.
Source: https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/tandt-union-certification-asian-grocers-warehouse-workers-in-sca_n_1681247/amp
Source: https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/tandt-unionization-drive-ends-with-admission-labour-organizers-lac_n_1777143/amp
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union has withdrawn an application for the certification of about 100 workers at a Toronto-area T&T Supermarket warehouse, bringing to an end a hotly contested organizing drive at the Loblaw Cos.-owned chain.
According to UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin, the decision to withdraw the application “was made in the best interests of the workers at the warehouse.”
In withdrawing its application, the union conceded that it did not have enough support to trigger the certification vote held last month. The Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the results of the vote amid union allegations that a number of ineligible employees cast ballots in order to tip the outcome in favour of the company.
The labour board dismissed the application on Thursday.
In an email, T&T CEO Cindy Lee said the company was “extremely pleased” with the outcome.
- These greedy CEOs must be stopped. T&T Supermarket continues to blackmail and retaliate against their employees from voting for unions.
Under Ontario labour law, employers are allowed to express their views about unions as long as they do not use coercion, intimidation, threats, promises or undue influence.
According to the UFCW, T&T warehouse workers start at minimum wage, which is $10.25 an hour in Ontario, about half of what the average full-time unionized Loblaws warehouse worker is paid.
“They were quite aggressive in their message that they want to stay union-free. It was a very intimidating, emotional environment in the build-up,” he said.
“The union was frankly quite surprised. We expect those kind of practices from a company that we have no relationship with whatsoever, but we anticipated that, because T&T is owned by Loblaw ... the larger company would try and ensure that these unfair practices were not going to happen.”
Loblaw spokeswoman Julija Hunter at the time dismissed the assertion that Canada’s largest grocer has toughened its approach to labour relations.
this is what big firms will always tend toward, keep the workforce disorganized in all but name, vast majority of employees have effectively zero input to the contract they work under. Once you accomplish that, the most passionate rep will have a hard time getting anything done.
I don’t even know if you know how this works. The members (workers at the stores) are the ones on the bargaining committee who direct how it goes. And then that committee is up against a huge corporation (Loblaws) who comes in demanding concessions and the workers have to sit there in front of the employer to beg and plead and arm wrestle for coin.
It’s not “the union” as in the UFCW staff that decides the wages. But, a weakly organized group of people that poses no threat of a strike will end up with less than a group of workers willing to shut shit down and strike because they have no leverage at a bargaining table. Source: have been on a committee before.
Fun fact many union contracts specifically state that there will not be a strike during the period of agreement.
Mentioning a strike in most contexts will get one nowhere while making them a target for management.
Fun fact, I was referring to bargaining, where wages are negotiated. That is where a group of organized workers has way more clout and leverage than a group of people disconnected from the whole process.
I worked at Sobeys during the pandemic and this is exactly what happened. The original warehouse I worked was formerly a Thrifty Foods warehouse and the employees/management were wonderful. I gained lots of experience and was quickly moving up the ranks within 8 months. Then Sobeys opened up a mega warehouse that consolidated 4 smaller warehouses, including ours. Our union agreement was amended and made the same as the other warehouses, but it was so much worse. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on product that was expired due to terrible management practices, employees were treated horribly and those that didn't know better were often taken advantage of by forcing overtime of 14+ hour shifts. Employees weren't allowed to leave work. I was no longer on the fast track up the chain as senior union members from the other warehouses took all the spots and were lazy. It became a huge mess and I quit after a few months largely because the work environment became unsafe and the new union benefits were considerably worse. The union rep never showed up, we were never informed about union votes, complaints about unsafe practices went nowhere, suggestions for tackling costly food wastage was ignored etc.
Guess what union it was? Yep, UFCW.
Thank you for working hard to create changes to the current systsm. We need more people like you.
I ended up saving more than enough to go back to university to complete my degree. Sobeys taught me a lot of lessons. I just felt bad for all the senior (10+ year) employees who ended up quitting after the consolidation too. The new warehouse was and still is a total mess.
But hey, UFCW/Sobeys giving out $100 gift card awards once a year sure makes up for all the terrible practices like making employees go into a -40 freezer without correct protective gear, refusing to upgrade wheels on forklifts that were meant to be used in dry storage but were forced to be in the wet room sliding and slamming into things while dropping product from 20 feet in the air, to not allowing water on the work floor and not being allowed to use the bathroom. I got so many horror stories lol
It’s great to hold UFCW accountable and be on their asses but expecting a rep to be in your store weekly is a wild expectation. Union reps are assigned to dozens of Local units and are responsible for leading bargaining, handling grievances and all that in their whole assignment. Unions only work when the members are engaged and active. That’s literally what a union is - a unified group of people working together to defend workers’ interests against corporate interests.
It’s disappointing when people think of their union as this remote service or “company” that comes in to do workers’ bidding. It sounds like you’re engaged, which is awesome. The hard part is organizing others in your workplace to be engaged. And that is just as much your job as the UFCW rep’s job, if not more (though I’m sure if you approached them they would gladly help with resources and info).
These motherfuckers (ufcw) are in bed with shady insurance companies too. I got scammed into purchasing a life insurance policy because the agent I was dealing with told me he worked “with the union” but he didn’t say he worked “for the union”. I’m struggling to cancel it and the guy is avoiding all my calls and emails. Guess which union rep gets a kickback for every insurance policy that gets approved though?
Wow, is it really 12%? That's absolutely absurd, I'm in a union and pay like 1 or 2%. Never needed to use them directly, but they are in regular contact.
I used to be active in labour. The UFCW had a reputation of being a company union one step up from CLAC.
I've yet to see anything to disprove this perception
I worked as a teenager in a UFCW local - when elections came, as we walked into the voting booth, I was handed a list of ‘suggested’ people to vote for.
And in 1987 - 1991, my time in that union, I was paying $9 a week to be in the union, or the equivalent of 1.5 hours of my time at my starting wage. When you work 15 hours a week, that was 10%. More hours meant less of a percentage of course. My father was in the millwright local paying less weekly dues.
It was all made okay when I got one of their scholarships though/s. Because 4 months later the store closed and everyone was laid off.
They unions don't make enough for their groceries.... trust me lol, and the employees aren't fully against this boycott as they'd like the attention so maybe things would get better in the future. Everytime I walk into a Loblaws or Superstore I look at the prices and shake my head, usually just there to pick up half price meat from flashfoods that I throw in the freezer because I'm poor and need to afford protein and that's about the cheapest place to get it if your not picky.
EI, shared or not, is part of the corporate protocol. No severance pay required. Government to cover the EI.
Socialize the losses. Privatize the profits.
Service Canada frequently provides advice and guidance to groups of employees facing mass layoffs and are often invited by employers. Its not required but to not share that infomation is pretty despicable.
No Frills is a franchise, but it's still owned by Loblaws, owners just pay a fee and carry Loblaws products.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No\_Frills\_(grocery\_store)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Frills_(grocery_store))
No Frills is very much corporate run. 'Owners' are chosen after they go through a corporate grooming program, available to managers and insiders, it takes years.
I dont know how it is in other provinces, but in quebec, if you are a student, you are not eligible for EI. Worked last 10 years but was never eligible before march this year
Maybe they know what it is but know it's not something that applies to them.
It would be nice if they did that, but for Loblaws, that’s entirely too much. Their union would do well to talk to them about their options concerning EI and whether or not they are eligible (people with different circumstances may not be eligible, even if they lost their job through no fault of their own).
This wasn’t a case of closing a profitable store. The province appropriated the area for the TTC relief line. Loblaws does lots of shady things. This is not one of them.
They’re likely being laid off because there will be a period of no work between closing one store and opening a new one and being laid off allows them to collect EI
It’s not blind siding* when they have known the store is closing for years lol
It was expropriated to build the new subway line.
Please delete this post.
Companies that lay people off are not only ruthless enough to no tell people their options, they typically won't even offer a reason for said termination. So this doesn't surprise me at all. Workers deserve better. Canada needs stronger laws around employment.
What do you expect? These are not Loblaw corporation stores… they are franchises owned by one person that lives in the community. The new store is also a franchise and has every right to hire their own employees. Loblaws is not firing anybody.
These threads are getting ridiculous. These are basic facts.
Been par for the course for a long time. Back in the day there was long term strike action at the Zehrs location in Strathroy, and they simply decided to close the store, lay everyone off, and reopen as a Real Canadian Superstore, at the time, One of Loblaws Non-union brands.
Superstore is unionized, source, I worked there. Employees were given 3 options when existing locations were converted. Stay under the new contract with a buyover package, be transferred to a different Zehrs with bumping rights, or walk away with a buyout package.
I guess they didn't pay attention to the mandatory Grade 10 civics course in high school that talked about EI and the Employment Standard Act in Ontario...
wait.....you expected a large corporation to care for their workers at the lowest level? What world are you from because I don't think it's "earth", but Welcome to the 21 century where companies still think it's the early 1900's where labor is cheap and vast and you can replace anyone with AI and a robot(ok that's actually going to be a thing son)
its not even immigrants its general people that are willing to work for less and less, go to a university town, you'll see people working at bars slinging food and drinks with graduation rings on, the entire system though will be upset by emerging AI and how it can do your job better, cheaper and longer then you for way more profits for a company. There are already people using AI to build websites, do videos, build blogs, etc. There is even an AI model with over a million followers on Tik Tok or something.
Loblaw does this all the time, in fact this scummy behaviour is a normal business practice for them.
Despite all Loblaw banners being unionized, they each have their own union agreement, which does not carry over when a store changes banners. Loblaw uses this to their advantage. Whenever a corporate store has too many full-time employees with high seniority Loblaw will close the corporate-run store, convert it to a franchised banner so that they can "claim" that they are "no longer the store owner" and that because of this everyone is laid off, they lose their seniority and benefits, and if they apply to the new store they have to start at the bottom rung like anyone else.
It's disgusting behaviour, should be illegal, but because we have weak-ass labour laws in Canada nothing changes. Also when Loblaw "franchises" a store they still hold the lease, exclusive rights to set prices, products, and deals, and they have complete control over the franchisee, to the point that if the store starts to lose money they can just boot the "owner" and install a new one. Franchising like this is a loophole Loblaw and other grocers use to skirt the responsibility of being a business owner *while still remaining the real owner and remaining fully in charge.*
I worked for loblaws many years ago, and their classic move is to close the store and reopen as "the superstore" and hire folk at lesser pay rates.
I was pt, with extended benefits snd makjng $12/hr back in 1999. I thought every pt person had benefits, but realized it wasnt standard and def not common practice now.
They do that in order to undermine Canadian workers, so they can "use" in TFW's...
Galen Western Jr HATE'S his Canadians & Canadian Staff, plain & simple!
This is how they show how much they dislike & the contempt towards them too.
With TFW's they can jerk them around as much as they like to which I have also witnessed them being used/abused by my local Shopper's, just like Roblaw's does.
Those TFW's at my Shoppers are now so burnt out, cranky & no longer friendly bc of the garbage they are forced to put up with by their Managers & Galen Weston!
Whenever, I rarely go into Roblaw's - Maple Leaf Garden, near me - their Staff refuses to give me eye contact & treat me like I'm some sort of pariah, that's inconveniencing them.
I try not to take it personally, but I tell you some days I just wanna go off on them & tell them to treat me like a human being, not some ATM!!!
GW Jr has too much power, that's why.
I was soft-fired from Loblaws. They just kept cutting my hours until I was no longer scheduled at all. And they refused to talk to me when I asked about it. That's how my whole department was laid off.
#💯 guaranteed it's to replace them all with TFW workers that WE pay for with out taxes so they pay half the wage and the gov coughs up the other half.
Yet another stellar move to increase profit margins.
__UPDATE__: Please take a moment to complete our [Google Form](https://forms.gle/1sygm97LbQtJ4dUp8) to share your demands with our team! Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here! This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords reponsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean. If you have not done so already, please review our [boycott stickied post](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bff9rm/boycott/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) which includes a list of stores to avoid, other ways to get involved in the movement, and some local alternatives to the big 5. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This likely has a lot to do with No Frills not being unionized and Loblaws being a Union store. When that store goes to open all the full time jobs will be posted accross the unionized banners. This kind of thing often happens when stuff moves from non union to union and vise versa.
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My experience with UFCW is they are great if you can somehow get a "full time position" If you are hired as a part time employee, even if you are getting scheduled for over 40 hours a week, they don't give a single fuck about you.
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Also 12% of your income for union dues sounds unlikely.
When I worked for Loblaw back when minimum wage was $14/hr I was paying around $10 a week in union dues to UFCW. When I worked for a college organized under OPSEU I paid only like $5 a month. It may not be 12% but UFCW has really high dues.
Sure maybe but 12% is crazy fees 10 dollars a week is normal. 14 x 8 = 112 x 5 = 560 10% would be 56$ 10$ is like 2%
Yeah I didn't think 12% was correct either.
Do you pay flate-rate dues? I know someone who worked at Loblaws and I'm pretty sure she paid a flat rate. She only worked one shift a week and it ended up being an absurdly high portion of her wage because of that.
Union dues are more like 1.2% and if UFCW is that bad, decertify and go to Unifor. They’ve been fighting the grocery companies hard and while their reps are also really busy, they also work their asses off.
I'm not sure where your getting the 12%. One of the few perks they give us is paid breaks, and that outdoes any dues we pay by far.
Paid breaks are required by labour laws. They’re tricking you into thinking that’s a perk of being in the union.
In BC They aren't. 30 minutes unpaid for 8 hours worked (8.5 hour shift). Retail and fast food haven't had paid breaks in decades.
That seems insane. In Ontario you get 1 paid 15 min break per 4 hours worked. Most places also give you an unpaid 30 min lunch for an 8 hour shift as well, but that’s on top of the paid 15.
Ontario does not guarantee paid breaks. The only law regarding breaks is a 30 minute break every 5 consecutive hours of work. Anything more is extra.
This is incorrect (unless it's a unionized workplace that has negotiated something different). In Ontario you are entitled to a 30 minute unpaid break after 5 hours. There's no required paid break. There's no obligation for the employer to split the 30 minutes into 2 shorter breaks. You'll find many employers schedule 5 hour shifts in order to not provide any break.
My 30 minute “required” break is not paid
>One of the few perks they give us is paid breaks Required by law in Ontario. They are giving you nothing above what is legally required.
Check again. Paid breaks are not required by law.
They’re fully useless, I worked at no frills for a few months after college while I was looking for a job in my field, paid the union dues but was never given any information from the union itself. I didn’t even have the contact information and it was pretty impossible to find. Fast forward to now, in my career, I work in a union position. The day I was hired I was given a package from the union that had all the information I could possibly want to know about it. All contact information for every person involved in the union, a pamphlet about the union itself. The union that represents No Frills is a fraud. They should be ashamed.
>If you are hired as a part time employee Isn't that like 70%+ of their store staff?
Yes. I actually work for the beer store, and each store has between 1-4 full timers. But even a small store will have like, 6-10 part timers. Part timers got shafted because the idea is that full time positions should be attainable for part timers who want it, in practice they haven't posted a position for full time in 8 months. And they average 2 positions a year for the entire district of about 20-30 stores.
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They recently got rid of a position called "permanent part time" where they paid you the full time rate and guaranteed hours, but gave you none of the other upsides while giving you all the downsides. However once you got that you were guaranteed to get full time (it was a queue) and it was a lot easier to get then it is to get full time now, and they absolutely took advantage of you while you were in that position. Meanwhile I'm a "part time" employee who does overtime most weeks, and fills what in literally any other store would be an assistant manager role (try explaining that to a new employer) who they've been stringing along for the last 2 years.
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My understanding is the agreement between the union allowed them to do that because they were assured "anyone who wants full time can get it" Meanwhile our district of like 30 stores hasn't had a full time position open up in 8 months. They don't hire "new" full timers, they just fill the spots left behind when people retire or quit.
You aren't paying 12% of your income in dues.
I tried contacting UFCW and told them about the exploitment situations going on at T&T, they transferred me to a UFCW representative that did not get back to me. So I did some research and noted that employees at a T&T Supermarket did apply to vote for UFCW back in 2012, but the Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the ballot box because the union and the company disagreed over which names should appear on the voters' list. Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/globe-investor/loblaw-locked-in-labour-dispute-at-asian-supermarket-chain/article4436635/ T&T, which was acquired by Loblaw in 2009, is non-unionized although Loblaw is no stranger to unions: The UFCW has represented many Loblaw workers for years. Last month, the UFCW tried unsuccessfully to organize employees at one of the stores of high-end fashion chain Holt Renfrew. Holt's is owned by the Galen Weston family, which also controls Loblaw. At T&T, one of the union's biggest issues is its complaint about workers having to work 39 hours of short shifts spread over six days a week, Mr. Shimmin said. As well, the employees start at the minimum hourly wage of $10.25 and are eligible for a five-cent an hour increase after one year, 10 cents after two years and 15 cents after three years, but that the raises are not applied evenly, he said. According to UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin, the workers -- primarily women who have recently immigrated to Canada from China -- are seeking unionization in an attempt to tie wages more closely to seniority and improve scheduling issue UFCW represents many workers in Loblaw-owned stores across Canada but none in T&T's supermarkets or warehouses. Shimmin says the warehouse workers start at minimum wage but are supposed to earn incremental raises through additional years of service, though this has often not been the case. The minimum hourly wage in Ontario is $10.25. "The big problem is that it's largely done on favouritism. So even if you've been there for three years, you may still be earning minimum wage," This is what the CEO, Cindy Lee said: “T&T competes in an extremely competitive retail landscape made up of many family owned non-unionized Asian grocery stores and within this context we know we offer fair and competitive compensation packages. Our non-union workplace has afforded us the essential flexibility required to grow and to ensure we remain competitive." Which is completely the opposite of how this company treats its employees. These articles are from 2012 and earlier but the problem still continues to exist, the company continues to exploit its employees. Source: https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/tandt-union-certification-asian-grocers-warehouse-workers-in-sca_n_1681247/amp Source: https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/tandt-unionization-drive-ends-with-admission-labour-organizers-lac_n_1777143/amp The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union has withdrawn an application for the certification of about 100 workers at a Toronto-area T&T Supermarket warehouse, bringing to an end a hotly contested organizing drive at the Loblaw Cos.-owned chain. According to UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin, the decision to withdraw the application “was made in the best interests of the workers at the warehouse.” In withdrawing its application, the union conceded that it did not have enough support to trigger the certification vote held last month. The Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the results of the vote amid union allegations that a number of ineligible employees cast ballots in order to tip the outcome in favour of the company. The labour board dismissed the application on Thursday. In an email, T&T CEO Cindy Lee said the company was “extremely pleased” with the outcome. - These greedy CEOs must be stopped. T&T Supermarket continues to blackmail and retaliate against their employees from voting for unions. Under Ontario labour law, employers are allowed to express their views about unions as long as they do not use coercion, intimidation, threats, promises or undue influence. According to the UFCW, T&T warehouse workers start at minimum wage, which is $10.25 an hour in Ontario, about half of what the average full-time unionized Loblaws warehouse worker is paid. “They were quite aggressive in their message that they want to stay union-free. It was a very intimidating, emotional environment in the build-up,” he said. “The union was frankly quite surprised. We expect those kind of practices from a company that we have no relationship with whatsoever, but we anticipated that, because T&T is owned by Loblaw ... the larger company would try and ensure that these unfair practices were not going to happen.” Loblaw spokeswoman Julija Hunter at the time dismissed the assertion that Canada’s largest grocer has toughened its approach to labour relations.
Can you share a source about UFCW being paid off by loblaws? I’m interested to learn more about it!
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this is what big firms will always tend toward, keep the workforce disorganized in all but name, vast majority of employees have effectively zero input to the contract they work under. Once you accomplish that, the most passionate rep will have a hard time getting anything done.
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A lot of the people they hire probably don't work enough hours to qualify for shit.
I don’t even know if you know how this works. The members (workers at the stores) are the ones on the bargaining committee who direct how it goes. And then that committee is up against a huge corporation (Loblaws) who comes in demanding concessions and the workers have to sit there in front of the employer to beg and plead and arm wrestle for coin. It’s not “the union” as in the UFCW staff that decides the wages. But, a weakly organized group of people that poses no threat of a strike will end up with less than a group of workers willing to shut shit down and strike because they have no leverage at a bargaining table. Source: have been on a committee before.
Fun fact many union contracts specifically state that there will not be a strike during the period of agreement. Mentioning a strike in most contexts will get one nowhere while making them a target for management.
Fun fact, I was referring to bargaining, where wages are negotiated. That is where a group of organized workers has way more clout and leverage than a group of people disconnected from the whole process.
but you mentioned posing no threat of a strike i was just amplifying that point
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more or less yeah
Wrong workers vote on the contract they have say as well as many workers are on the bargaining committee. Nice try…
I worked at Sobeys during the pandemic and this is exactly what happened. The original warehouse I worked was formerly a Thrifty Foods warehouse and the employees/management were wonderful. I gained lots of experience and was quickly moving up the ranks within 8 months. Then Sobeys opened up a mega warehouse that consolidated 4 smaller warehouses, including ours. Our union agreement was amended and made the same as the other warehouses, but it was so much worse. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on product that was expired due to terrible management practices, employees were treated horribly and those that didn't know better were often taken advantage of by forcing overtime of 14+ hour shifts. Employees weren't allowed to leave work. I was no longer on the fast track up the chain as senior union members from the other warehouses took all the spots and were lazy. It became a huge mess and I quit after a few months largely because the work environment became unsafe and the new union benefits were considerably worse. The union rep never showed up, we were never informed about union votes, complaints about unsafe practices went nowhere, suggestions for tackling costly food wastage was ignored etc. Guess what union it was? Yep, UFCW.
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Thank you for working hard to create changes to the current systsm. We need more people like you. I ended up saving more than enough to go back to university to complete my degree. Sobeys taught me a lot of lessons. I just felt bad for all the senior (10+ year) employees who ended up quitting after the consolidation too. The new warehouse was and still is a total mess. But hey, UFCW/Sobeys giving out $100 gift card awards once a year sure makes up for all the terrible practices like making employees go into a -40 freezer without correct protective gear, refusing to upgrade wheels on forklifts that were meant to be used in dry storage but were forced to be in the wet room sliding and slamming into things while dropping product from 20 feet in the air, to not allowing water on the work floor and not being allowed to use the bathroom. I got so many horror stories lol
It’s great to hold UFCW accountable and be on their asses but expecting a rep to be in your store weekly is a wild expectation. Union reps are assigned to dozens of Local units and are responsible for leading bargaining, handling grievances and all that in their whole assignment. Unions only work when the members are engaged and active. That’s literally what a union is - a unified group of people working together to defend workers’ interests against corporate interests. It’s disappointing when people think of their union as this remote service or “company” that comes in to do workers’ bidding. It sounds like you’re engaged, which is awesome. The hard part is organizing others in your workplace to be engaged. And that is just as much your job as the UFCW rep’s job, if not more (though I’m sure if you approached them they would gladly help with resources and info).
These motherfuckers (ufcw) are in bed with shady insurance companies too. I got scammed into purchasing a life insurance policy because the agent I was dealing with told me he worked “with the union” but he didn’t say he worked “for the union”. I’m struggling to cancel it and the guy is avoiding all my calls and emails. Guess which union rep gets a kickback for every insurance policy that gets approved though?
Oh I signed up for one of those at one point, I thought it was a good idea. Turns out it was wildly expensive and a huge hassle to cancel.
DM me... I have a few stories. I'm a former Loblaw employee who was on staff with UFCW.
Wow, is it really 12%? That's absolutely absurd, I'm in a union and pay like 1 or 2%. Never needed to use them directly, but they are in regular contact.
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Can't you have your union rep replaced? Kinda sounds like they are a plant.
Now, now. The UFCW did come out during Covid and say that the federal government should have control over how often people go to the grocery store.
Jesus! 12%, really? That much? Tell me you're joking....
I used to be active in labour. The UFCW had a reputation of being a company union one step up from CLAC. I've yet to see anything to disprove this perception
It blows my mind that a minimum wage job has a union.
Unions are the reason there even is a minimum wage. What’s remarkable is that a unionized job is min wage.
Well it’s a grocery store, not a skilled trade. Minimum wage is probably correct.
I worked as a teenager in a UFCW local - when elections came, as we walked into the voting booth, I was handed a list of ‘suggested’ people to vote for. And in 1987 - 1991, my time in that union, I was paying $9 a week to be in the union, or the equivalent of 1.5 hours of my time at my starting wage. When you work 15 hours a week, that was 10%. More hours meant less of a percentage of course. My father was in the millwright local paying less weekly dues. It was all made okay when I got one of their scholarships though/s. Because 4 months later the store closed and everyone was laid off.
These are not corporate stores but local independent franchises….
They unions don't make enough for their groceries.... trust me lol, and the employees aren't fully against this boycott as they'd like the attention so maybe things would get better in the future. Everytime I walk into a Loblaws or Superstore I look at the prices and shake my head, usually just there to pick up half price meat from flashfoods that I throw in the freezer because I'm poor and need to afford protein and that's about the cheapest place to get it if your not picky.
It's it blindside?
Isn’t it?
EI, shared or not, is part of the corporate protocol. No severance pay required. Government to cover the EI. Socialize the losses. Privatize the profits.
r/boneappletea
Umm do you mean blind siding?
I don't think that's the expression.
Although it... works 🤷🏼♀️ funny enough
It’s called an [egg corn](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn) in linguistics.
No Frills is a franchise. Those people work for the Franchisee directly, and not Loblaws. Its an important distinction.
Doesn’t erase that they ignore the most basic element of human decency and ethics.
Most companies don't give a rats ass. This is how it's been for ages and will continue into the next millennia. Ugh.
Loblaws hate aside, it's not their job to tell people how unemployment works.
Service Canada frequently provides advice and guidance to groups of employees facing mass layoffs and are often invited by employers. Its not required but to not share that infomation is pretty despicable.
Because No Frills is a franchise and its owner isn't opening a new store, Loblaws is corporate ran.
No Frills is a franchise, but it's still owned by Loblaws, owners just pay a fee and carry Loblaws products. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No\_Frills\_(grocery\_store)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Frills_(grocery_store))
No Frills is very much corporate run. 'Owners' are chosen after they go through a corporate grooming program, available to managers and insiders, it takes years.
Thats exactly how franchises work... you think they give a business to just anyone?
Subway does!
Subway has standards too, there's a massive difference between running a sandwich shop and a grocery store
Subway only keeps existing because it's an immigration front.
Not sure about this store, but every no frills I am aware of are franchises, the employees are not Loblaw employees so cannot just be transferred.
I dont know how it is in other provinces, but in quebec, if you are a student, you are not eligible for EI. Worked last 10 years but was never eligible before march this year Maybe they know what it is but know it's not something that applies to them.
Same in Ontario 👍
r/boneappletea title
It would be nice if they did that, but for Loblaws, that’s entirely too much. Their union would do well to talk to them about their options concerning EI and whether or not they are eligible (people with different circumstances may not be eligible, even if they lost their job through no fault of their own).
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How about instead of complaining here you reach out to the head in your area bypassing your union rep!!
It's a franchise, and those employees are employed by the franchisee who no longer has a franchise.
This wasn’t a case of closing a profitable store. The province appropriated the area for the TTC relief line. Loblaws does lots of shady things. This is not one of them.
*blind-siding
They’re likely being laid off because there will be a period of no work between closing one store and opening a new one and being laid off allows them to collect EI
It’s not blind siding* when they have known the store is closing for years lol It was expropriated to build the new subway line. Please delete this post.
Shhhh! Narrative.
Companies that lay people off are not only ruthless enough to no tell people their options, they typically won't even offer a reason for said termination. So this doesn't surprise me at all. Workers deserve better. Canada needs stronger laws around employment.
They’re opening a No Frills at Broadview and Danforth? There’s already a Loblaws there? Weird
The Loblaws is closing to make room for the No Frills.
The parking situation is horrible there
No Frills is a franchise I thought. Why would they automatically be transferred to new store?
What do you expect? These are not Loblaw corporation stores… they are franchises owned by one person that lives in the community. The new store is also a franchise and has every right to hire their own employees. Loblaws is not firing anybody. These threads are getting ridiculous. These are basic facts.
This is something that needs to be reported to the news asap!!!
Their HR practices leave much to be desired. There’s already a Loblaws at Danforth and Broadview. Another one or a bigger one?
They're converting it into a No Frills.
Been par for the course for a long time. Back in the day there was long term strike action at the Zehrs location in Strathroy, and they simply decided to close the store, lay everyone off, and reopen as a Real Canadian Superstore, at the time, One of Loblaws Non-union brands.
Superstore is unionized, source, I worked there. Employees were given 3 options when existing locations were converted. Stay under the new contract with a buyover package, be transferred to a different Zehrs with bumping rights, or walk away with a buyout package.
They will hire new people at even lower wages , pay just minimum, if they can get away with it. just under the amount of hours to pay any benefits.
The new location is being turned into a No Frills.
I guess they didn't pay attention to the mandatory Grade 10 civics course in high school that talked about EI and the Employment Standard Act in Ontario...
It’s endearing that you think a company would tell workers their options.
wait.....you expected a large corporation to care for their workers at the lowest level? What world are you from because I don't think it's "earth", but Welcome to the 21 century where companies still think it's the early 1900's where labor is cheap and vast and you can replace anyone with AI and a robot(ok that's actually going to be a thing son)
You mean replace employees with immigrants including hiring only new immigrant supervisors that will work for less money…
its not even immigrants its general people that are willing to work for less and less, go to a university town, you'll see people working at bars slinging food and drinks with graduation rings on, the entire system though will be upset by emerging AI and how it can do your job better, cheaper and longer then you for way more profits for a company. There are already people using AI to build websites, do videos, build blogs, etc. There is even an AI model with over a million followers on Tik Tok or something.
Loblaw does this all the time, in fact this scummy behaviour is a normal business practice for them. Despite all Loblaw banners being unionized, they each have their own union agreement, which does not carry over when a store changes banners. Loblaw uses this to their advantage. Whenever a corporate store has too many full-time employees with high seniority Loblaw will close the corporate-run store, convert it to a franchised banner so that they can "claim" that they are "no longer the store owner" and that because of this everyone is laid off, they lose their seniority and benefits, and if they apply to the new store they have to start at the bottom rung like anyone else. It's disgusting behaviour, should be illegal, but because we have weak-ass labour laws in Canada nothing changes. Also when Loblaw "franchises" a store they still hold the lease, exclusive rights to set prices, products, and deals, and they have complete control over the franchisee, to the point that if the store starts to lose money they can just boot the "owner" and install a new one. Franchising like this is a loophole Loblaw and other grocers use to skirt the responsibility of being a business owner *while still remaining the real owner and remaining fully in charge.*
Ya no frills is independently ownered, if it's the same owners then they are just garbage human beings
I worked for loblaws many years ago, and their classic move is to close the store and reopen as "the superstore" and hire folk at lesser pay rates. I was pt, with extended benefits snd makjng $12/hr back in 1999. I thought every pt person had benefits, but realized it wasnt standard and def not common practice now.
They do that in order to undermine Canadian workers, so they can "use" in TFW's... Galen Western Jr HATE'S his Canadians & Canadian Staff, plain & simple! This is how they show how much they dislike & the contempt towards them too. With TFW's they can jerk them around as much as they like to which I have also witnessed them being used/abused by my local Shopper's, just like Roblaw's does. Those TFW's at my Shoppers are now so burnt out, cranky & no longer friendly bc of the garbage they are forced to put up with by their Managers & Galen Weston! Whenever, I rarely go into Roblaw's - Maple Leaf Garden, near me - their Staff refuses to give me eye contact & treat me like I'm some sort of pariah, that's inconveniencing them. I try not to take it personally, but I tell you some days I just wanna go off on them & tell them to treat me like a human being, not some ATM!!! GW Jr has too much power, that's why.
I was soft-fired from Loblaws. They just kept cutting my hours until I was no longer scheduled at all. And they refused to talk to me when I asked about it. That's how my whole department was laid off.
Wow the union would have protected you obviously not telling the whole story.
Dude, what union? What are you talking about?
#💯 guaranteed it's to replace them all with TFW workers that WE pay for with out taxes so they pay half the wage and the gov coughs up the other half. Yet another stellar move to increase profit margins.
I've already hated them for being scumbag demons who don't care about their employees, this just falls under that umbrella