Strike Averted in First Contract for Ontario Price Chopper Workers (9/1/09)

The 65 new RWDSU Northern Joint Council members employed at Price Chopper supermarket in North Bay, Ontario, are already seeing the benefits of their first union contract. The local 545 members ratified the three year pact on August 19, after authorizing a strike when negotiations stalled.

“We were one day away from going on strike, but when management saw that the vast majority of us were ready to walk out, they realized it was time to get serious at the bargaining table,” said cashier Darlene Tomasini. “We worked hard and negotiated a fair contract that we could all work with, and were able to narrowly avoid having to strike.

According to Northern Joint Council Representative Jeff Black, the strike authorization was needed to keep the company from undermining the union.

“We needed to be able to keep outside contractors away from these stores, and get that written into the contract,” Black said. “Without that, they can just hire as many people they want outside of the union contract, which makes the whole thing moot. Members understood this, and gave the negotiating committee all of the support it needed.”

The new contract gave members their first guaranteed raises ever, an important sticking point at a store where many workers hadn’t seen raises in 10 years. Most importantly, it gave them a union voice.

“We didn’t have anybody to speak for us before the union and our new contact, and it’s already getting better here,” Tomasini said. “People are seeing wage increases for the first time, and scheduling, which was a nightmare before, is now covered by seniority and it is in writing. Now we have a contract that makes sure everything is fair, and it has changed working here for the better in many ways. I’m so glad we won a union voice at Price Chopper.”