Superstore workers prepare for 
strike vote in Edmonton

Gil McGowan, AFL Staff

More than 3,000 Superstore workers in the Edmonton area could be on strike by the end of March.

The workers, members of UFCW Local 401, are scheduled to take a strike vote on March 17-18.

"Obviously, we’d all prefer a negotiated settlement," says union president Doug O’Halloran. "But the company is leaving us with no choice. They’re refusing to listen to our issues and they’re refusing to compromise."

Superstore is owned by Westfair Foods which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Loblaws, Canada’s largest and most profitable grocery chain.

Despite the fact that company profits jumped by 21 percent last year, Superstore is offering wage increase of only between 15 and 25 cents an hour. They are also demanding changes to the wage progression grid so that it would take workers much longer to reach the top of the pay scale.

"The company is making millions, yet they’re nickel and diming our members," says O’Halloran. "It’s disgraceful."

In addition to concerns over wages, O’Halloran says Superstore workers are upset by the company’s ongoing refusal to treat them with more dignity and respect.

"It’s a lot of little things that add up to a very bad work environment," he says. "Managers pressure people to come to work when they’re sick. They prohibit cashiers from having water bottles at their tills. And they refuse to do things like buy new anti-fatigue mats for workers who are standing all day. Our members are just saying: enough is enough."

The union has asked for a written guarantee that managers will deal fair with workers and treat them with dignity and respect – but the company has flatly refused.

If the Edmonton-area Superstore workers vote to strike, they will join their counterparts in Saskatchewan who voted nearly 90 percent in favour of strike action early in March.

At press time, the Saskatchewan UFCW members (who work at Superstore and two other Loblaws subsidiaries, Extra Foods and Wholesale Club) were still at the bargaining table. But they could begin their strike at any time.