Woodbridge office workers have gone on strike -- against another union that employs them

“It’s been contentious, to say the least,” union president says, as Canada’s Year of the Strike enters rare territory with walkout.

Thestar.com
Nov. 30, 2023
Jeremey Nuttall

In a labour action pitting union against union, five Woodbridge office workers have gone on strike -- against another union that employs them.

The rare -- but not unheard of -- labour dispute is pitting the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union Local 343 (COPE) against the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 1006A (UFCW) Wednesday morning after an impasse in contract negotiations, which have been ongoing since September.

“It’s been contentious, to say the least,” COPE 343 President, Kelly Belbin, said. The strike is affecting employees who perform administrative duties for the UFCW.

The walkout is the latest in a year that has seen a nationwide increase in labour action as Canadians deal with high inflation, interest rates and a housing crisis.

Belbin said one of the main sticking points in the dispute is wages. Rather than making adjustments to the wage grid with each contract, she said, the UFCW has instead been offering employees lump sum wage increases over multiple contract negotiations.

The result has been those hired in more recent years are far behind employees with more seniority on the pay scale. Belbin said there is a $368 a week pay gap between new hires and those who’ve been there the longest doing the same work.

The UFCW has offered to fix the wage grid in June 2025, Belbin said, but after more than 10 years of the grid staying where it is COPE members want it changed now. Belbin said work hours are another issue, with some workers putting in 32.5 hours a week and others putting in 35.

COPE wants everyone to work 32.5 hours a week, she said, while the UFCW said it wants everyone’s hours bumped up to 35 a week.

“We’re really disappointed,” Belbin said. “As a union that has workers that work for unions we expect more.”

The UFCW did not respond to a request for comment on the dispute Wednesday. The union represents 40,000 workers across Ontario in the grocery, retail and hotel sectors.

The union’s web page refers to itself as a “progressive, dynamic and inclusive local union dedicated to making life better for all workers across Ontario.”

Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University, said while it isn’t often unions strike against other unions, it does happen.

Usually, according to Savage, unions are on good terms with the members who work for them, but it doesn’t mean unions are always model employers. It can also cause internal turmoil, he said.

“When a staff union initiates a strike against a union employer, it’s always awkward and potentially embarrassing for elected leaders,” he wrote in an email. “Shaming the union’s leadership is a powerful source of leverage for union staff, but it could also backfire if staff demands are perceived as unreasonable, especially in the eyes of the union’s membership.”

Savage said people are “typically” drawn to the labour movement when they’re committed to concerns about justice and fairness in the workplace. A dispute between unionized employees and a union can be confusing for the general public, he added, and cause mixed loyalties for union staff and leaders.

Belbin, meanwhile, accused the UFCW of hypocrisy for its actions during the negotiations.

“We expect them to toe the line when it comes to their own staff,” she said. “The UFCW 1006A is out there talking about equity for workers and making sure they stand for working people, and then they turn around and they’re not doing the same thing in-house."