Unifor kicks off grocery talks with 100 per cent strike vote by ‘fed up’ workers

"I think that tells you something about the sense of urgency," said Ross. "People are falling behind every day." 

Unifor says grocery workers have more resolve than ever to achieve higher wages and better working conditions as it heads into a two-year stretch of bargaining for more than a dozen collective agreements.

The work will begin with negotiations next week for a contract covering 3,700 Metro workers across the Greater Toronto Area, who — in an unusual move — have already voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike if a deal can’t be reached.

The strike vote ahead of bargaining and 100 per cent support for a strike are both rare, said Stephanie Ross, an associate professor in the school of labour studies at McMaster University.

“I think that tells you something about the sense of urgency,” said Ross. “People are falling behind every day.”

The strike vote sends a strong signal not just to Metro, but to all three grocery giants that their workers are fed up, said Unifor national president Lana Payne.

“We need to send a signal and a very serious message to the supermarket barons that workers deserve a piece of these profits, and they deserve to have better pay, better working conditions and more full-time jobs,” she said.

“We want to make important gains in this round of bargaining. We feel we’re in a good place to do that.”

Unifor represents more than 11,000 grocery store workers at major grocers across Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Quebec, the union said.