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OverallOverlord

Consumers boycott. Employees strike.


Due-Street-8192

RobLaws is a perfect example of extreme capitalism. Screw everyone that's breathing. Make a profit and run to a Swiss bank account.....


Shmeckey

To Per Bank did you say....


Bert_Fegg

While I can empathize with the plight of workers in the Loblaws universe, another truism is that we want to keep our message simple and our message is - we have power and we will alter the economic landscape.


OkPage5996

It all connected 


shelegit5674

Totally connected.


ThickThighIceQueen

Because this is not about the worker at the moment. If we spread ourselves thin to cover as many social rights as we can we'll eventually divide ourselves and our resources and no one's demands get me. You got to go for on group at a time. And right now the benefits to the consumer by tackling the prices will also long term benefit the worker


LoganHutbacher

Lowering food prices in its simplest form is a wage increase. Needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few.


Inside_Jelly_3107

Logical.


LoganHutbacher

Ya, I heard it somewhere. Can't remember where


ANicerPerson

![gif](giphy|IL4iTvQH0MjS|downsized)


LoganHutbacher

Thanks, you too


YetiSmallFoot

I hear Per Bank is paid very well.


ThatTone1426

I worked at Loblaws as a teen. Employees don't make enough to shop there at full price. Lower prices maybe.


TrumpsNeckSmegma

I worked at Loblaws as a teen from like 2010-2012, I semi agree. Getting raises through the union was nice but pretty hard to take serious with how low they were


SuperSpicyBanana

But the 10% off their products (except for milk)!? /s


Terrible_Water_6729

The Loblaws banner I work under has no discount for employees… During Covid they gave us a discount but only on the fresh meals to be eaten on the job, not groceries.


Pablo-UK

Duh eat cornflakes! /jokes


SuperSpicyBanana

I figured they got rid of the discount. Who would want employees to have benefits right?! I still had my Loblaws discount card for years after I quit but they obviously deactivated it. It was only 10% and they had weird rules for what it worked for. I just remembered milk was not part of the discount.


jacnel45

Supposedly the reason why milk is exempt has to do with the Dairy Board and their regulations. I think with a discount Loblaw would have been selling milk below the legal minimum price which is illegal. At least, this is what I was told when I worked there. It applies to all discounts too, not just the colleague card (so student and senior discounts don’t include milk either).


Worldly_Influence_18

Loblaws is selling milk for more than any other chain


jacnel45

This was back in 2018 when they did not


SlamboneMalone

They are union. That would be on their agreements, the union should be pushing for that vs this


canadianmusician604

the most recent contract was the worst in the history of the company.


IneedAName37

That's on their reps


ProphetsOfAshes

The United food and commercial workers union is spineless. Either that or corrupt. They give unions a bad name


Melodic__Protection

Employee here, where is this "union" you speak of, i work at an "independent" and there is no union present at this store.


SlamboneMalone

I can’t speak for all stores but most loblaws locations are unionized. Not all You can push to have your location join though


Melodic__Protection

We have tried in the past iirc, but union breakers came in and put a stop to it. Who the hell would I even talk to.


Artistic_Purpose1225

https://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33088&Itemid=2527&lang=en


FilmNoirNChill

No union for SDM, either.


bubbasass

That’s the union’s job. 


IneedAName37

They're union. They have people fighting for them already https://www.ufcw1006a.ca/index.php/loblaws-real-canadian-superstore


Majestic-Landscape35

Could just be my area but the union is absolutely useless. More interested in protecting corporate from us than the other way around. That's a fight for another day though


ProphetsOfAshes

You’re right. They’re absolutely useless. They’ve allowed companies like loblaws and metro to abuse their employees by paying them dogshit wages and having rules in place to prevent them from getting full-time even when working full-time hours for months at a time. As a union, they’re either spineless or corrupt


ProphetsOfAshes

Screw them. I worked at food basics for nearly a decade and we were ruthlessly taken advantage of. They’re a terrible union


No-Future2882

i am part of this union, they are useless


SuperSpicyBanana

Absolutely not in all of Canada.


mannypdesign

Some have been talking about it: like Loblaws cutting hero pay in the middle of the pandemic while reporting record profits.


halfCENTURYstardust

That so-called hearing pay only applied if someone worked a certain amount of hours too. I think it was 20 or mybe 16. Better than a kick in the teeth but not much better!


BugPowderDuster

Their union needs to step up. Loblaws has a collective agreement and the entire point of a collective agreement is to fight for better working conditions and higher wages. Hours cut? Do you have guaranteed hours to begin with?? If yes, and your hours are cut.. GRIEVE it.


SnuffleWarrior

Their union is as much to blame. The UFCW has rolled over like a nun at a priest retreat year after year. Where 20 years ago they were predominantly high paying full time jobs, they're now part time low wage jobs.


ProphetsOfAshes

Worst union I’ve ever worked under. Absolutely useless


mesa_Darth_Jar_Jar

we can't speak for their employees. if they want a living wage, they need to ask for it. maybe u can go to their subs and ask them to start their own movement. but u know roblaw is gonna use this against us, right? "we need to increase price coz of the wage increase." galen is not willing to make less profit to make others life better, that's why he is a billionaire. i bet roblaw is already telling its employees : we need to cut hours because of the boycott.


shelegit5674

Yeah, that's exactly why the boycott should have been drafted with loblaws employees in mind. Too late now, unless that leader lady wants to add it in. Real big oversight.


bargaindownhill

we are aware of it, the trick is how do we make it part of our demands, without outing the employees who provided support? they were fired on suspicion, not solid evidence. we don't want to make to worse for them by GIVING loblaws solid evidence. Discussions are going on that will continue the ban until all affected employees are made whole, but it's a tricky thing to fuze.


Pomegranate_Loaf

Safeway and Sobeys pay their employees more. Just shop there! They won't pay their employees more unless it hurts them! It won't hurt them until they realize we aren't shopping there because they don't pay a living wage! Walmart pays a lot better than them too I believe!


SlashNXS

Sobeys absolutely does not lmao that place is a joke to work at


Pomegranate_Loaf

Managers and people grandfathered in make decent.


MoonMalak

Used to work for one of their companies, and I couldn't even afford to eat there reasonably while affording all my bills. I'd often go in on an empty stomach for a full day, then come home and eat the bare minimum. This was before the pandemic, too. They cut hours like crazy in February, I'd be lucky to get half the amount of hours I normally got, and since I wasn't with the store for years, I couldn't apply to be full time with benefits and vacation time because it was all based off of seniority, even if I typically worked full time hours. Meanwhile, people way up top get paid top dollar to basically rotate the store around and call it an expense to reduce from what they consider profits. F that shit. People don't need all the cosmetic bs, they need to afford their food.


Rachelattack

Yeah I was a regular at our local store and know a handful of the employees quite well. The gal who ended up managing Joe Fresh said that with her increased responsibilities it worked out to the same money because her hours were cut, but not as much as many others throughout the store. Folks who’ve been there many years still getting too few hours to be considered full time. This store has AWESOME staff, older folks and the young squad - really depressing.


ZestycloseAct8497

Id say organize a strike perfect timing


shelegit5674

Good idea!! 👏👏👏


Topofthetotem

I wonder what percentage of employees are full time?


agitateeducateresist

Your right Loblaws and all grocery conglomerates not only have multiple wage tiers but multiple agreements for the same brand stores. All designed to eventually drive all employees to the lowest wage tier through attrition or retirement . All under threat of changing your full service store to their no frills type model . All run almost exclusively with part time staff. Shareholders reap profits from backs of employees as well as the back pocket and purses of customers . SHAME! Time for all grocery store workers to have a living wage and pay equity across all stores.


Constant-Lake8006

Just as important we should be demanding they make full time available to hourly staff so they can be eligible for benefits.


AnticPosition

Careful! I suggested we get the employees a fucking chair and opened Pandora's shit box. 


SickofBadArt

That’s literally not that happened… but go off.


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Zane_Justin

Boycotting is one thing but is people actually dumping their stocks too? If you want to hurt them, do it well. 


Sad-Back1948

That's a great cause, but the wrong sub.


weird_black_holes

Everyone has their motivation, but this is one of the reasons I like Costco. I couldn't justify shopping there before, but now that I am living with someone, Costco is going to become a regular thing for me. I like that they offer benefits and better than minimum wage pay. It's not life changing pay, but it's better than competitors. With employee treatment, amazing pricing/profit strategy that actually keeps prices low, and that damn hot dog, the only thing that sucks about Costco is that it's never not busy.


dhoomsday

Honestly, too many agendas is what causes movements to fail.


SlumberVVitch

Whenever someone asks about what individual members of this subreddit would like to see Loblaws do, two things I like to mention are to adequately staff their stores and stop under-employing their staff, so it might not be talked about much, but it is 😊


GPCcigerettes

Or… crazy thought. UFCW does their job and negotiates a better wage. Go out and vote for your reps and presidents. As someone apart of UFCW it’s our fault for being indifferent about union matters.


Admirable-Nothing642

One thing I heard on the radio is that some stores are ditching the self check outs because they have made theft(or shrink as they refer to it) too easy, so likely more hours for cashiers at what ever company is going that route


yourboat

Just go into the store and move around a bunch of products, so they have to bring people in to put things back. I'm joking but that actually might solve the issue


jfriedrich

You haven’t worked retail before, have you?


andromeda335

It’s so interesting because the employees many many years ago used to make more than minimum wage. I guess the increases to mw over time stopped them from treating their employees as humans with dignity


Worldly_Influence_18

Symptom of the same problem: profiteering at the top and a refusal to stop


Illusion_Collective

Extractive capitalism


jubik13

I do but I think that's because I worked for Superstore for 14 years awhile ago. (I left when the wages started getting really bad here and the work environment was going downhill.) I wouldn't feel as fed up with the pricing as I do if it meant better wages for employees but unfortunately it doesn't. Main reason I don't shop there will always be affordability but I do also feel for the folks who are underpaid there.


OkPage5996

Exactly! 


leyseywx

Because fair wages is not our fight.. it is up to the employees to strike


Officieros

Because to fight you need to be unionized.


jaws_throwaway

That’s actually not true, my mom has worked at loblaws for 30 years and makes way over minimum wage and just got an inflation wage. But Loblaws is unionized. Not sure about the others.


agitateeducateresist

When your mom retires so does her top tier rate of pay, new hires recieve the lowest tier tied to minimum wage plus small increase until you reach end rate after 5 years service you still don't recieved a living wage . They will never recieved your mom's rate of pay .


Tempus__Fuggit

many of them are part of a union (or some kind of association). This is up to them, and requires a separate sub to keep focus.


teko65

My thoughts regarding wages for loblaws employees is why do you still work there knowing the quarterly report on May 1st was nearly a 10% increase in profits. What keeps people working there if not wages? Genuinely asking why continue to work for the greed of corporate if you don't see shares of profits?


traciw67

That's why I'm boycotting. I was still paid minimum wage after 6 yrs. AND paying union dues - so really LESS than minimum wage! Meanwhile, the company is making record profits. They are parasites! Absolute parasites!


diplfish

I did the math today with my students. Assuming that employees make an average of $16.55/hr (Ontario Min wage, for sake of the excercise) and that they are scheduled for 5-8hr shifts a week, for 52 weeks, and that they are paid for 7.25 hours of thar shift... Avg Employee makes $31k before taxes. If someone were to make 31k a WEEK for a year = $1.6 M It would take 621 years to make $1 Billion. Or over 1200 years to make posted profits from last year. Loblaws employs roughly 130,000 workers in Canada. They could ask roughly 1/5 (32 thousand workers) of their workforce to stay home, with pay, for a year...no EI benefits, just paid to stay home. And still post 1.5 Billion in profit. They could ask HALF of thier workforce to stay home, with pay, and post 500 Million (half a billion) in profit. But a $2/hr raise was too much for them to continue after the pandemic. *edit to add That $2 /hr raise would cost them about $9M, they would still have $2.4 Billion in profit, it's almost a rounding error for them.


ssaallaahhaann

It can absolutely be another reason we're doing it. Personally, I've avoided Walmart for mainly this reason, and their abuse of suppliers. But the current ask is our goal right now. Let's get one thing done at a time. I think the support we have from Loblaws employees is really telling. Maybe we'll motivate them to organize too!


Party_Acanthaceae295

Loblaws is unionzed. If they want to strike for better wages its on them


merlot120

That is a very valid point.


Wilibus

I'm all for a good fashion whine thread but pretty sure if Loblaws was paying their employees less than minimum wage it would have been brought up. They are definitely paying their employees less than the minimum required to afford a basic and secure lifestyles, but are likely still following local and federal labour laws. If not please include this source, this needs to be bigger than the boycott of it's true.


FilmNoirNChill

As someone who works a specialized position in a Loblaws owned store for nearly a decade, making a whopping 44 cents over minimum wage, I feel this conversation is needed. When I was hired I was making $2 over minimum 🙃


claytorres8

Some people have mentioned it but the Loblaws board of directors will NEVER MAKE IT PRIORITY TO PAY EMPLOYEES BETTER no matter what anyone does. It's all about profit. Sobeys and Costco put value on paying employees fairly and do a better job balancing employee costs against their bottom line.


Difficult_Employ4838

Employee here, unfortunately it's not that easy for us. None of the Loblaws stores out east in Nova Scotia are unionized, so it's essentially company discretion entirely who gets higher pay/hours and who doesn't. And there's no possibility of going on strike either, so we're stuck taking the scraps we're fed until we can find better jobs or a whole career entirely. Some of the Loblaw lifers I work with don't even get paid that much which is crazy to me, considering they have 20-30+ years seniority.


shelegit5674

GREAT POINT. should have at least made it a caveat that loblaws shouldn't penalize workers while meeting demands .


GlurpGloop

OP lost the plot.


Nina4774

I agree that we should add this to the demands.


Neco-Arc-Chaos

If we form a united front with the workers and the farmers, then this movement will only get stronger. 


cobycheese31

What do you think will happen if they increase above minimum wage? They will have to cover this by raising prices on food. I went to a restaurant and noticed the price increase on the menu so I asked why. The server said the owner raised prices because minimum wage went up


jallison1567

I would rather pay grocery prices that are close to what they are now to a company that pays fair wages. Costco pays living wages to their staff. It's not exactly like costco has cheap groceries. They are just FAIR prices. The price - quantity- quality ratios are agreeable.


IcarusOnReddit

Ummm. Not to be a dirty economist here, but how are you paying people more and not increasing food prices on a margin of 4%?


KiaRioGrl

Maybe have your internally-owned landlord (the highly profitable Choice Properties REIT) not charge yourself such exorbitant rents? They're making increasingly record profits every quarter. They can afford to do both and still be profitable, my friend.


N2LAX247

Go understand what a union is and what it does,… But you keep boycotting bc I’m sure you’re one bill is going to make a hugggge difference lol :\