Workers at GTA Metro grocery stores poised to strike: Unifor

Less than a month after Metro grocery store workers in the Greater Toronto Area voted in favour of a strike mandate, the union representing them has announced a strike deadline.

More than 3,700 workers could walk off the job unless a deal is struck before 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18.

Unifor, representing the workers at 27 Metro stores across the GTA, said in a Thursday release that its “negotiating committee is prepared to bargain all day and night to achieve a fair collective agreement.”

“Unifor members at Metro deserve a collective agreement that not only addresses the significant affordability challenges they face but that also fairly distributes the company’s record profits with those on the frontlines generating those profits,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.

RELATED: Metro grocery store workers in Greater Toronto Area unanimously vote to give strike mandate, union says

The union says progress has been made since talks began on June 26, but “major wage, benefit and other monetary issues remain outstanding.”

In the event a deal is not reached, Unifor members at Metro voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action.

Metro responded to the deadline announcement, telling CityNews in an email that it is “committed to working with the union to reach an agreement that meets the needs of our employees while enabling the company to have the flexibility it needs to meet and exceed our customer’s needs and expectations.”

Larger public support for workers likely if strike occurs, University of Toronto professor says

David Soberman, a University of Toronto marketing professor with expertise in the food and retail industries, said should workers go on strike, there would probably be a “greater degree” of support for them.

“I think the general public has a little bit upset about how fast grocery prices have gone up,” he told CityNews in an interview.

“Grocery workers are not amongst the highest paid sector in our economy and for those people, necessities like food and shelter take up a much greater percentage of their earnings and those are the things which have been subjected to substantial inflation.

“I think the people that are working in the grocery sector are probably feeling inflation to a much greater degree than the average Canadian and so this is probably one of the reasons why this strike is so important for them.”

Soberman said the industry is going to be watching contract talks closely and a salary increase could be a “bellwether” for other companies.

“That will probably give them a basis for thinking about the same sort of action, so I think that as we move forward I think we’re going to see a little bit of disruption in this sector,” he said.

When asked how this could impact Metro, Soberman said it could negatively impact the company and consumers.

“Obviously anytime a store is closed, it forces people to go to the competitors so it’s not going to be a good thing for Metro to any degree,” he said.

“If you have one less competitor in the market, I would probably make a guess that the prices in the other two competitors won’t go down. So I think we’re going to lose if there’s actually a strike despite the fact that probably our sympathies lie with the workers.”

List of stores that would be affected if Metro strike goes ahead

Metro Ontario Inc. #325: 371 St. Paul Ave., Brantford
Metro Ontario Inc. #331: 150 First St., Orangeville
Metro Ontario Inc. #332: 1050 Kennedy Circle, Milton
Metro Ontario Inc. #334: 1521 Rebecca St., Oakville
Metro Ontario Inc. #360: 180 Sandalwood Parkway, Brampton
Store #35: 16 William Kitchen Blvd., Toronto
Store #37: 3003 Danforth Ave., Toronto
Store #52: 3090 Bathurst St., North York
Store #704: 201 Lloyd Manor Rd., Etobicoke
Store #712: 20 Church Ave., North York
Store #717: 2225 Erin Mills Parkway, Mississauga
Store #719: 2155 St. Clair Ave. W., Toronto
Store #720: 100 Lynn Williams St., Toronto
Store #728: 6677 Meadowvale Circle, Mississauga
Store #742: 425 Bloor St. W., Toronto
Store #748: 1500 Royal York Rd., Etobicoke
Store #750: 1411 Lawrence Ave. W., Toronto
Store #752: 2300 Yonge St., Toronto
Store #758: 656 Eglinton Ave. E., Toronto
Store #759: 89 Gould St., Toronto
Store #771: 16640 Yonge St., Newmarket
Store #780: 291 York Mills Rd., North York
Store #786: 1050 Don Mills Rd., North York
Store #798: 1111 Davis Dr., Newmarket
Store #800: 40 Eglinton Square, Scarborough
Store #804: 2900 Warden Ave., Scarborough
Store #808: 3221 Eglinton Ave. E., Scarborough