Striking Dominion workers in Newfoundland and Labrador will get visible support from fellow Unifor members across Canada on Labour Day.
“We had planned to escalate these actions and take this to Loblaw banners and Loblaw brands across the country,” said Chris MacDonald, assistant to Unifor's national president.
“We’re looking to make customers and the public aware when you call somebody a COVID hero, that those words don’t ring true unless you treat them decently.”
Unifor, which represents 315,000 workers nationally, will take to the street to “demand the company negotiate a fair contract … and support fair wages for all retail workers.”
Loblaw owns more than 20 stores across the country, including Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, and Dominion, as well as brands such as President’s Choice and Joe Fresh.
On Tuesday, a letter sent to unionized employees stated Loblaw believes the current offer is fair and addresses employees' concerns, and includes an annual wage increase and more full-time jobs.
The strike started at 10:01 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 22, after a tentative deal negotiated between Unifor and Loblaw was rejected by Dominion employees.
MacDonald says while their current dispute is with Loblaw Inc., the strike action is more broadly about what’s happening to workers in the retail industry.
“This issue of having a low-wage business plan is not just (the) Loblaw business plan.”
Unifor will go live on Facebook from a number of locations, which have yet to be announced.
In a news release from Unifor, national president Jerry Dias said in the past six months there has been a transformation like no other.
"Canadians have realized that when the going gets tough it's not the CEOs and billionaires who stepped up to the plate, but frontline workers in health care, retail, transportation — the list goes on — who played a vital role in helping us all get through the pandemic. Monday's actions are to show these COVID heroes the respect, love and solidarity that they rightfully deserve."
