LCBO workers strike: Here’s everything you need to know

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Ontario residents’ weekend plans may be disrupted for the foreseeable future, as nearly 10,000 LCBO workers have gone on strike since 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Strikes are nothing new for Ontario residents, but this is the first mass strike in the LCBO’s 97-year history. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents LCBO workers, announced the strike after talks with the Ford government about expanding alcohol sales to private companies failed.

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Here’s everything Ontario residents need to know about the causes of the strike, the union’s demands and the impact on consumers.

What were the causes of the LCBO strike?

Negotiations between the union and the provincial government over job security and measures to ensure the LCBO’s competitiveness in the face of new competition have been ongoing since March this year, but these negotiations finally failed on Thursday.

Last month, 97 per cent of workers voted to strike because they felt the LCBO and its jobs were at risk amid increasing competition from the Ford government’s plans to expand alcohol sales to grocery and convenience stores. To remedy this, the OPSEU negotiating team put forward a proposal that would open more public retail stores, expand hours of operation, increase the LCBO’s in-house warehousing, logistics and e-commerce capacity, and create more permanent jobs.

“Tonight begins Ford’s dry summer.”

Colleen MacLeod, Chair of the Negotiating Team of the Employees Division of the Alcohol Committee of the OPSEU

What do the striking LCBO members want?

One of the most notable demands of the strikers is the reversal of the Ford government’s current plan to allow the sale of alcohol in grocery and convenience stores. Colleen MacLeod, chair of the OPSEU’s alcohol authority bargaining group, said in a public address at the start of the strike that the union is demanding job security and that big business should not be allowed to divert public funds.

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“We see the writing on the wall. Under Ford’s plan, we could lose thousands and thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in government revenue. We told the employer that and you know what they said? ‘We can’t guarantee your future,'” MacLeod said. She then added, “Tonight is the start of Ford’s dry summer.” MacLeod also attributed the strike to Ford’s alleged desire to enrich his “rich friends” by funneling government revenue to big chains like Circle K and 7-Eleven.

In addition, the strikers are demanding wage increases, more safeguards in their collective agreements that would protect existing jobs, and more full-time positions. According to OPSEU President JP Hornick, 70 percent of LCBO workers are casual workers with no guaranteed hours, access to benefits, or opportunities for advancement to permanent part-time or full-time positions.

Has the Ontario government responded?

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How long will the LCBO strike last?

While all LCBO stores will remain completely closed for the next 14 days, OPSEU has stated that if the strike continues beyond July 19, the LCBO will reopen 32 of its more than 680 retail stores across Ontario, but with limited hours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Hornick stated, “We have a very solid strike fund … and can sustain a strike for as long as we need to.”

Where can you still buy alcohol?

Ontario residents can still purchase alcoholic beverages at grocery stores that already sell those products, as well as at bars or pubs and at The Beer Store branches. The LCBO says its website and mobile app “will continue to accept orders for free home delivery anywhere in Ontario for the duration of the strike,” adding that it will implement “reasonable caps” on sales.

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