(Apologies if anything is awkwardly formatted – I am on Mobile / also throwaway due to privacy reasons)
Hi everyone,
The union contract for the Real Canadian Superstore employees ended in August of last year. The company and the union (UFCW247) went back to the drawing board and finally released a copy that unionized employees could vote on. The main (and really only thing that I was repeatedly told) piece that they wanted was a better pay scale. I agree with this 100%. Cost of living has gone up and the main chunk of the stores employees are either:
• International Students surviving on minimum wage while only being able to work 20 hours a week.
• University Students who live alone and are trying to make it until next payday
• 35+ year old individuals who work to support their family and are either one of the breadwinners, or are the sole income earner for the family.
With the cost of living drastically increased, surviving is depressing and demoralizing knowing that you’ll never be able to live a lower-middle class life. The company rejected their offer of increasing the pay scale as minimum wage will be increasing June 1st. They did change the pay scale but it was really more of a slap in the face. Employees use to earn a $0.05 raise every 520 hours worked. Now with the edited version, it is $0.10 raise every 1000 hours with a cap of $18 dollars. Naturally 78% of the unionized employees voted against this.
I feel so demoralized for my employees. They are getting nothing. Yet the company is still reporting profitable sales each period. They took away their $2 hazard pay after a few months into lockdown because everything got better, yet here we are 2 years later. The unionized employees will be going to do a strike vote within the next couple days (dates posted on UFCW247 website). And I hope they strike. I hope the company realizes how important our employees are. How we literally would not be able to function without them. I am frustrated, burnt out, and also underpaid. How is any of this fair?
Is there something antiwork can do? I do not want my employees to be given another 5 year contract of absolute garbage pay scales that will do nothing for them.