TORONTO – Liquor Control Board of Ontario staff have voted 93 per cent in favour of a strike as their union continues to bargain for a new collective agreement.
Voting by members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union was held Monday and Tuesday.
Denise Davis, the head of the OPSEU bargaining team, says they will now return to negotiations with a strong mandate from the workers.
Commentary: LCBO strike? Really?
The vote was called by the union in late March after what they described as management’s “complete lack of respect for workers.”
The union has long railed against the government’s move to sell beer, wine and cider in grocery stores, calling it “creeping privatization.”
OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas says he hopes the strike vote will “wake up this management team to the reality of the situation.”
READ MORE: LCBO staff set to hold strike vote later this month
“The people of Ontario built the LCBO, paid for the LCBO, and own the LCBO. We’re not about to let the Wynne government destroy it through this piecemeal privatization.”
The LCBO said it anticipates reaching a fair settlement in bargaining that its employees would consider and accept before actually going on strike.
It noted, however, that it was working on a contingency plan in case there was a labour disruption.
The union represents 7,500 LCBO staff whose last contract expired on March 31.
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