Unionized workers at a Kelowna liquor store will begin a strike on Saturday, Sept. 14.
Employees at Armstrong Regional Cooperative (ARC) Liquor in Guisachan Village are taking action after negotiations ended with a final offer from ARC Liquor on Aug 29. Workers filed a 72-hour strike notice with the BC Labour Relations Board on Sept. 11.
“While bargaining was originally going well, and employees felt hopeful, talks fell apart over monetary concerns,” a media release from
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 2 states.
The workers unionized in May.
“We’re looking for a wage increase because the cost of living in Kelowna is getting higher and higher as inflation rises,” said four-year employee Julia Scott. “The co-op is doing nothing to compensate us, and we need to be able to pay our rent,”
The SEIU release states that “ARC Liquor does not seem to agree that dignified pay that allows their employees to live in Kelowna is important to their community.”
Workers plan to start picketing at 9 a.m. on Saturday and ask the community to join them at 12 p.m. in a show of support.
SEIU Local 2 represents 20,000 workers across Canada including thousands in the alcohol and beverage industry such as Calona Vineyards, Mission Hill Winery, Okanagan Spring Brewery and others.
