No Timmys Tuesday? Support grows for boycott of popular coffee chain

For many Canadians, going to Tim Hortons for coffee is part of the morning routine, but there’s a push to boycott the popular chain on Tuesday.

A meme promoting “No Timmys Tuesday” has been circulating throughout social media since last week’s news that two locations in Cobourg would no longer be paying employees for breaks, and would be eliminating other employee incentives.

“I figure any business that needs to claw back, you know, 15-minute paid breaks should really think about their business practices,” Bronwyn Bjorkman said. The Kingston resident admits she gets her coffee at Tim Hortons about twice a week.

Bjorkman said she hadn’t heard of the boycott but will likely take part in it.

A more traditional protest is being planned for Wednesday at one of the two Tim Hortons locations in Cobourg where these issues were first raised. The Kingston and District Labour Council will send a group to support those who they say are being punished.

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WATCH: Tim Hortons’ customers boycott the coffee/food chain

2:04 Tim Hortons’ customers boycott the coffee/food chain

“They can’t do this,” Kingston and District Labour Council member, Lesley Jamieson, said.

“They can’t punish their employees for the minimum-wage increase. So we need to be prepared to go out and stand with these workers.”

But those tactics may not be limited to Tim Hortons locations in Cobourg.

An employee at a Kingston Tim Hortons location says a similar letter to the one given to employees in Cobourg was posted at that restaurant.

“Basically, what I can tell you is that the notice from Cobourg is similar to the notice we got,” the employee, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote in an email to CKWS News. 

“Full time (staff) are now only being scheduled 4 shifts per week, or 32 hours,” the email added.

CKWS News reached out to Agnew Foods, the company that owns most of the Tim Horton locations in Kingston. They declined to comment, instead directing CKWS News to their corporate media relations. As of this writing, they have yet to respond.