Ontario liquor store workers take strike vote as provincial contract expires

TORONTO – Unionized workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario are stepping up pressure on management as the two sides negotiate a new contract.

The 7,000 members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union say they’ll take a strike vote next month.

OPSEU says its members are angry that management has proposed a four-year wage freeze and a host of other concessions.

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OPSEU spokeswoman Denise Davis says the strike vote doesn’t mean employees will walk off the job, adding more bargaining is planned for next month.

Most of the employees work in LCBO retail stores, but some work in warehouses and at head office.

The current contract with the provincial government-owned company is set to expire Mar. 31.

“We never bargain with the intention of striking but our employer needs to roll up its sleeves and get down to some genuine negotiations,” Davis said in a news release issued Saturday.