Strike at Ontario Sobeys warehouse enters third week

Nine years is ‘a long time to be locked into a contract’: UFCW

About 900 workers at a Sobeys warehouse in Milton, Ont. are on strike after they rejected a nine-year contracted presented by the grocery company.

The workers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 175 and have been picketing at the Brock Road facility since just after midnight on Feb. 11.

Sobeys told the Toronto Star it won’t disclose any information regarding negotiations between the two sides.

The grocery chain’s proposed contract included yearly wage increases, but UFCW regional director Luc Lacelle said the 78 per cent of members who rejected the deal were more concerned with the length of it.

“It’s a long time to be locked into a contract,” he told the Star. “The economy is volatile and we don’t know where we will be in the near future.”

Workers at the warehouse make $21.60, Lacelle added. Currently, the union and Sobeys are not engaged in any communication.

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