CRW & Lucerne Update: Strike Vote

October 12^th, 2022

Your committee met with the company this past week for two days on October 5^th and 6^th. The company made some minor positive changes to their last offer, but your committee did not see the type of increases in their proposal that you deserve.

The company has offered further increases to the Wearing Apparel Allowance and your vision care benefit. They have also moved up slightly on the wage offer.

We need to address only a few crucial issues to get to a contract offer that your committee can recommend:

1. We need an improvement to the wage offer they have made. The offer is still less than what Edmonton received as a function of percentage increases. Your committee feels the company needs to offer more percentage increases to bring Calgary closer to Edmonton.
2. We still have a proposed increase to the freezer premium that the company has not addressed.
3. There is no offer of a sunset clause or a Letter of Understanding that productivity disciplines will drop off your record after one year. The company has not addressed other important issues that affect the union’s ability to defend you.
4. There has been no offer to address the commissary moving to Balzac and the possibility that the Warehouse may become automated, resulting in a loss of jobs. Your committee has asked for severance packages for affected employees in these instances.

Please see a copy of the company’s new offer here.

We will be holding a strike vote tomorrow,
Thursday, October 13th,
at the Glenmore Inn and Convention Centre
located at 1000 Glenmore Court SE
between 10 am and 7 pm.

We will also be voting to reject the company’s new offer at that time. You must vote in person and between these times as it is a government-supervised vote.

There will be two ballots. Your committee recommends that you vote to support the strike vote and reject the company’s offer.

A vote in favour of a strike does not mean you will be on strike right away; a strike vote is good for 100 days in the province of Alberta, so we can take our time to get a good deal before giving strike notice. We have more bargaining dates scheduled for October 18^th and 19^th, and a high majority strike vote will pressure the company to improve its offer. Nobody wants a strike. They are unpredictable, could last a long time and are disruptive to everyone’s lives.

Give your committee a decisive strike vote so they can continue their excellent work from a position of strength. You will get another opportunity to vote after the meetings on October 18^th and 19^th before we take that difficult decision to go on strike.

Please stand by for more information as this situation evolves and talk to your shop stewards or Union Labour Relations Representative, Jeff Ible.

In Solidarity

Your Bargaining Committee,

Kelsang Wangchuk, Majock Anei Ayom, Carmelo Cabacungan, Elias Wisdom Kimara, Kelly-Jo Nicholson, Melchor Amurao, Alejandro Gutierrez, Sam Pyo, Jeff Ible, and David B. Smith. And special guest star back from retirement: Vance Truong! Thank You, Vance!!!!

Click here for a printable version of this document.

Posted on: October 12,2022