{"id":33738,"date":"2023-12-10T09:36:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T09:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/seiu-local-2-sobeys-refusal-to-offer-fair-wages-could-mean-a-national-boycott-and-significant-lost-revenue-at-lawtons-drugs\/"},"modified":"2023-12-10T09:36:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T09:36:05","slug":"seiu-local-2-sobeys-refusal-to-offer-fair-wages-could-mean-a-national-boycott-and-significant-lost-revenue-at-lawtons-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/seiu-local-2-sobeys-refusal-to-offer-fair-wages-could-mean-a-national-boycott-and-significant-lost-revenue-at-lawtons-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"SEIU Local 2: Sobeys\u2019 refusal to offer fair wages could mean a national boycott and significant lost revenue at Lawtons Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Dec. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council announced actions to support the workers striking at Sobeys Pete\u2019s Frootique store in Halifax in a press conference today.<\/p>\n

As the workers\u2019 strike enters its fourth week, local, provincial, and national actions were revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSobeys\u2019 offer of a nickel raise above minimum wage is a heartless insult,\u201d said Danny Cavanagh, the NSFL President. \u201cNot just to the workers at Pete\u2019s Frootique, but all workers in Nova Scotia who are struggling to make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trade Union movement will not stand by while these workers are starved into submission through the Christmas season by this corporate giant,\u201d said Cavanagh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful that these workers can\u2019t afford to shop at the place they work,\u201d said Debbie Richardson, the HDLC President. \u201cMany of them rely on foodbanks to survive and government inaction on corporate profiteering in the grocery sector is hurting all Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cavanagh said if the strike remains unresolved beyond December 15, 2023, the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour will start discussion with unions and members to consider not doing business through their participation loyalty card program, which is offered through the Atlantic Healthcare Coalition Society. The program, established in collaboration between the Labor movement and Lawton’s Drugs, a subsidiary of Sobeys, and encompasses a significant number of union members, reaching into the thousands. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA national online advertising campaign will also be launched to discourage the Canadian public from patronizing Sobeys and its affiliates during Christmas shopping season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

National Day of Action <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be supporting striking workers by calling on our affiliates to participate in a National Day of Action on Saturday December 16,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n

Information pickets are planned in various cities across Canada including Halifax, Digby and Yarmouth here in Nova Scotia; Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, St. Catharines and London in Ontario; and Vancouver, Victoria and Abbottsford in British Columbia. More may be added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese workers fought really hard to win this Union,\u201d said Richardson. \u201cAnd to be treated this way is shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not the first time for Sobeys <\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not the first time Sobeys willingness to bargain in good faith in Nova Scotia has come into question. In June 2014, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada, Local 864, certified Lawtons staff at Scotia Square in downtown Halifax. In a 2016 decision, the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board was highly critical of the company\u2019s actions during a dispute with the UFCW local. The board found bargaining had stalled because \u201cLawton’s had adopted uncompromising bargaining positions with respect to wages, and holidays and leaves, without reasonable justification.\u201d [United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada Local 864 v Lawton’s Drug Store Ltd. #144, 2016 Can LI I 153454 (NS LRB)].<\/p>\n

In the case of Pete\u2019s Frootique, Sobeys has refused to offer starting wages above $15.05, which is the pay most workers would receive under the company\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n

Company\u2019s false assertions<\/strong><\/p>\n

On numerous occasions Sobeys has claimed that the Union cancelled talks, both in the media and in correspondence with concerned customers. In an email the company sent a concerned shopper, the company writes: \u201cWe are disappointed both by the decision SEIU Local 2 has made to cancel our scheduled conciliation meetings, and by our teammates\u2019 decision to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

This assertion is untrue. Conciliation was cancelled by the Department of Labour. The conciliator provided both parties with a letter via email on November 3, 2023, stating his report had been submitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps the truth is too embarrassing to admit,\u201d said Nicholle Savoie, one of the strikers. \u201cA giant corporation bringing in billions in revenue, and whose CEO took home over $8.6 million last year, has refused to offer grocery workers who are paid minimum wage more than a five cent per hour increase. They are disappointed in us? I\u2019d say we\u2019re pretty disappointed in them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support we\u2019ve been receiving over the last few weeks has been incredible \u2013 and we know it\u2019s not only because people see the injustice we are facing as workers,\u201d continued Savoie, \u201cbut also because all Canadians are sick and tired of seeing large corporations making record profits while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour represents 70,000 members of affiliated unions in more than 350 locals working in every aspect of Nova Scotia\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

The Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council represents over 24,000 unionized workers in all sectors of the economy in the HRM.<\/p>\n

SEIU Local 2 represents 20,000 workers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. We are proud members of the largest, fastest growing, and most dynamic union in North America.<\/p>\n

For information about the workers\u2019 efforts to win a fair contract from Sobeys, owners of Pete\u2019s Frootique, visit www.PetesOnStrike.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Media Contact: <\/strong>Diego Mendez | 416-476-7762 | dmendez@seiulocal2.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Dec. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council announced actions to support the workers striking at Sobeys Pete\u2019s Frootique store in Halifax in a press conference today. As the workers\u2019 strike enters its fourth week, local, provincial, and national actions were revealed. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ml.globenewswire.com\/Resource\/Download\/996c25d8-eb6e-4780-94c6-dac429d28ad7","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[208],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-globenewswire"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}