Lcbo on strick ='(
 

Ontario drinkers may find it more difficult to find liquor this summer if talks don’t pick up between the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the union representing 6,000 of its workers.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union announced Friday that it has asked its members to deliver a mandate for it to call a strike.
Union members will vote between May 20-22 and a strike could take place as early as late June, OPSEU spokesman Randy Robinson said.

The LCBO has never gone on strike.

The main issue is the breakdown between full-time and part-time jobs, said Robinson, who added that 60% of LCBO workers fall into the casual worker category and earn an annual income of less than $20,800 per year.

“The central issue is what kind of jobs do we want in Ontario?” he said. “ Do we want ones with decent pay and benefits, or insecure part-time, throwaway jobs?”

Robinson said 88% of unionized LCBO workers who have joined the company in the last 10 years and 96% who came on board less than five years ago are classified as casual workers, meaning they don’t qualify for full-time benefits.

“Thirty years ago, (the LCBO) had all full-time jobs. Now we’re down to 40%.”

Workers have been without a contract since March 31 and their union has been in talks with management for about four weeks, Robinson said.

Should its membership vote to give the union a strike mandate, it would have to continue to negotiate in good faith before filing dispute documentation with the province. A strike could take place approximately three weeks afterward, Robinson said.

Calls to the LCBO were not immediately returned.

how about option 3, dismantle LCBO and sell the alcohol in grocery stores like it's supposed to be done

Even if there is a strike it wont last long because the government won't like not being able to collect the 12% tax on everything sold at the LCBO.

Alot of people seem to draw this conclusion as an easy way out, same with Beer.

The fact is this:

-Grocery store wont make it cheaper.
-Grocery store will not have the same variety.
-Grocery stores will be hit with heavy transportation costs.
-Stores that offer variety, will be like Liquor stores, except privately run- same idea as part time, throw away workers.

^^yeah, but you'll be able to buy booze in the store till at least 12pm, there will be shorter lines, plus, i disagree with selection, since smaller shops will be allowed to sell their own specialty goods, clearly a polish deli would carry good polish beer, etc.

Well I dont know about lines at the LCBO. They always got like 10 plus cashiers. I do hear ya about the Beer Store. Like I said Im an employee there and would prefer to shop at LCBO then the company I work for lol.

While youre right about special variety liqours and stuff, However the popular stuff is in almost all the LCBO's or Beer Stores. Lets say Grocery stores start selling it, you want a 24 of molson dry, or something, the grocery store probably isn't going to carry it. He might just carry 750 cans, or at the most 6 packs. So youll be paying 4-5$ more for a 24 to get those 4x6 packs, etc.

So ya, the small grocery stores will be able to supply you with the popular cans of stuff and maybe a few 6 packs of some popular stuff. 24's and other pack sizes wont be as common, and youl be paying more for them.

Also what will happen is place likes Walmart, Loblaws, will become like the Beer Store, LCBO that we are accustomed to at the moment because they will have the space to display 24's and will have a variety of beer and liqours.

This wont alleviate line ups because line ups at these places aren't any quicker/etc specially when they will get more traffic for alchohol sales.

Also what would eventually happen is that there would be private business opening up that will be just beer/liqour sales as well. So you get rid of the LCBO and Beer Store and you just have the same thing sprouting up under a different name- WITH lower payed employees, less full timers, and less jobs for our economy.

horrible idea.. I have worked midnight shifts at store for a while. The last thing you want is drunks looking for alcohol. Them just coming in drunk to buy shi# is bad enough. I have been in many hairy situations.

They would need to alow store clerks to carry guns if they where to do this.

sounds like a typical union member,we are "trained" to do our job properly and independent workers can not.Go anywhere in the world where wine and beer is sold in corner stores and everything works fine,the LCBO workers must realize they are store clerks,nothing more nothing less.Letting big chain stores probably offer more variety since they have the ability to order what they want and what amount they want.

Try over 50% for alcohol tax.

I'm so glad that nobody in my household drinks or smokes.

Nice spelling on the title. 24/7 booze available at gas stations or other 24/7 stores is a big plus.

umm no I am not a union member.. and by the sounds of it you have never had to work in a situation with drunks and late nights by your self in a store.

Theft will go up no doubt in my mind if they ever did that.

and "drugs" should not be sold in joe blows store it needs to be sold in single locations. Going through the states and seeing alcohol in gas stations is messed up in my mind.

when i was in montreal last year for ufc, i was buying beer at a gas station. *par-t*

how the hell are you comparing drugs to wine?...Yes I deal with the public so before saying that EVERYONE coming into a store is wasted maybe you should take a look at most cities that has wine and beer at the corner store,it works if regulated.The store have a choice of carrying the wine/beer,like stores have the choice to sell smokes."single location" to sell items,sounds like a monopoly to me.

If alcohol was available in grocery stores there would probably be less incidents. Many countries in EU do it this way and there's much less underage drinking because alcohol is available in more places (I guess it's always more exciting when it's forbidden), same goes for tobacco.