At ratification meetings held around the province from June 14 to June 20, 2015, UFCW Canada Local 1000A members working at Loblaws Great Food and Superstore voted to reject the tentative memorandum of agreement recently reached between the union negotiating committee and the company.
The final percentages will be provided early this week once all segregated ballots have been considered, but the fact the tentative agreement was rejected won’t change.
Your union is ramping up strike preparations.
As part of the preparations, picket captains have been called upon for training which will be conducted this week.
In response to many membership requests for more voting opportunities, your union has scheduled additional poll dates to provide Loblaws Great Food and Superstore members who have not been able to cast their ballot on the tentative memorandum of agreement a chance to do so.
Two additional voting days have been scheduled for Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20.
These polls have been scheduled because your union has received many requests from members for additional voting opportunities as they were not able to make the previously scheduled meetings. Many others have also told us they were not aware there was a vote on their contract. These factors have led to lower voter turnout.
Now that a tentative agreement has been reached, you may have questions about what’s next. Here are some common questions that may come up.
Where can I find out about what is in the tentative memorandum of agreement?
Information about the tentative memorandum of agreement will be provided at ratification meetings, which are scheduled to start in less than a week. At these meetings, union reps will go through the tentative agreement with the members in attendance in full detail. They will be available to answer questions you have. Importantly, you will have an opportunity to vote on the agreement. Two formal presentations are scheduled for each day of ratification meeting date. To find the date, location and times for the ratification meeting for your store, click here.
Supported by your strong strike mandate, negotiations with Loblaws Supermarkets Ltd. resumed on May 26.
Your negotiating committee requested a “no board” report from the conciliation officer, which puts the membership in a legal strike position on July 2 if it is required.
Due to the progress being made at the table, negotiations were extended through the weekend. This resulted in a memorandum of agreement being reached with the company in the early hours of the morning on Monday, June 1.
