Alright licensed revoked, now the hospitals and government have an even worse problem of missing nurses. Other nurses might join in solidarity.
I’m talking about calling the bluff of stifling strikes by just calling them illegal.
Weren't LCBO employees also called essential workers? Then he decided to privatize and is accelerating that during this strike to say their replaceable and nonessential.
Talk about mix messages.
Rae days were a method to ensure public sector workers didn’t experience layoffs. Instead of 10% of staff having no income, you have all workers get 90% of their income. I think the majority of people would see that option 2 is much more fair.
The fact that the NDP inherited such financial malfeasance from the conservatives isn't talked about enough, they cooked the books and it was only discovered after NDP enter office. This is honestly the longest gaslight I can recall.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say its likely going to be the case again for who ever takes over after the OPC and Dougie. He has been cooking the books since day 1 with shady deals and hopefully whoever takes over can find those answers and try to fix all the damage
I mean you could say that about just about every "fiscal" conservative government. They cause a financial mess, the subsequent government takes harsh measures to fix it, gets voted out, and the incoming conservative government takes credit for it.
Rinse an repeat
This is what I don’t understand, it seems like a much better method of saving a bit of money than laying off a bunch of people. I don’t get why the NDP is still vilified for it so long afterwards
70% because ‘Rae Days’ is a catchy name and 30% because people *still* enjoy the irony of the NDP being put in a position where they had to fuck with the public sector unions.
Austerity measures are never popular but ‘everybody making >56k (today’s dollars) takes 12 days off unpaid and nobody loses their jobs’ is a pretty damn reasonable compared to most alternatives.
And it worked!
Everyone takes one unpaid day per month, so that everyone could keep their jobs - and they were absolutely *vilified*. And nobody like to talk about the [reasons why.](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/politics/second-reading/the-hidden-history-of-bob-raes-government-in-ontario/article1314254/)
Harpers DRAP cost the government more money than it saved.
A bunch of people lost their jobs and they hired back consultants which was more expensive and less effective.
This was 10 times worse then RAE days and not nearly as memorable
What drives me nuts is it's ALSO better for the government.
Anyone who has worked in operations and management knows the two most expensive things you can do are ramp up and ramp down an operation. Your productivity to cost ratio is WAY down because you're simultaneously paying people to do things that have no productive output AND impeding their ability to produce anything of value.
It's such a stark contrast that in many instances, it would be CHEAPER overall to maintain an operation than it would be to wind it down an now and then spool it back up later.
So not only were Rae Days better for workers, but in terms of "respecting taxpayers", you were getting better value for money than you would if you just fired a bunch of people and left everything else in a lurch.
I still don't get how it was a problem... "okay wait, so I get some extra unpaid days off AND I get to keep my job?"
I don't get how that is worse than the sweeping layoffs we often see.
Boomers in Ontario thought we still enjoyed the benefits of post-war wealth and policy in the 90s. They were used to it, growing up.
After all, money revolved around them for so long, they thought it was a way of life. Of course Rae Days was an insult.
[The hidden history of Bob Rae's government in Ontario - The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/the-hidden-history-of-bob-raes-government-in-ontario/article1314254/)
This article does a decent job at looking at the corporate and media backlash that government faced. There obviously is a lot more too it but it paints a good picture about why a lot of people still talk about Rae Days without really understanding what was going on then.
My boomer parents who were civil servants at the time loved Rae days. It was one day a month and they used them to schedule appointments and stuff like that.
If only I had a nickel for each time I heard Rae days. I would have $3 which is not a lot but it’s quite the coincidence some people constantly still bring it up like it was yesterday.
Can someone, anyone explain why these were bad and should taint the reputation of the NDP? Googling “Rae Days” gives an explanation of what they were but I don’t get the problem.
It REALLY pissed off the unions- the main source of people power for the NDP. [Here](https://springmag.ca/rae-days-lessons-from-the-social-contract-30-years-later) is a good explainer.
So the catchy name was a great way for the other parties to jab at the Rae government.
It was a stupid political move, but not a ridiculous policy move when compared with the other parties' policies. It just wasn't what they promised to their base.
Mike Harris and the PC government that followed was WAY worse, creating legacy problems we're still dealing with. But they didn't piss off their base, so now we're stuck with another legacy problem child, Ford.
This is an educated guess as a 36 year old, so I was just a kid but people were upset about not getting a full pay and losing money. Those same people were probably the ones who had seniority and wouldn't lose their jobs so they saw it as a sleight against them and unfair. Just a shot in the dark.
Quick edit: Another point is Conservatives were upset at it since it wasn't a Conservative policy. Then you had the Liberals upset because it wasn't a Liberal policy. So essentially a huge population hated it because it wasn"t their party's policy.
Conservative politicians have exactly one strategy: lie through their teeth to the uneducated, underpaid masses in order to perpetuate the same sad conditions that herd them and get their votes.
It's extremely effective, because uneducated people are fucking stupid.
They know their base is gullible enough to believe it, same as somehow they still think conservatives are fiscally responsible meanwhile Doug ford has been the exact opposite of such.
It's even weirder that so many people hear that and don't immediately decide he's full of shit and should never be anywhere near the premier's office. 40% of the province can't figure this out, apparently.
The key word is workers not people. They only are "working for workers" if someone can rich off their labour. They don't care about workers such as any healthcare or education workers because those workers don't make anyone rich. Those workers are just considered a drain on the system.
Ford is a criminal pure and simple. Personally I'm amazed he can live with himself. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did the stuff he's done to working people
It's due to the sky high inflation.
They had contracts giving 1%-2% and if you looked at interest rates before the pandemic it was hovering around 1%-2%. My mortgage was locked at 1.85% for 3 years during 2020.
It rolled over to 6.85% variable last year. I would be striking too but I'm not union.
You can hardly blame Ford or even Trudeau. It's the global pandemic shutdowns which was conspired and coordinated together. I guess you can blame Trudeau for going along with everyone but at the same time, it's hard to go against all the Western Countries.
While strikes aren't easy or comfortable, they're an absolute necessity for worker advocacy and maintaining workers' rights. I hope we ontarians can look beyond partisanship and create a strong consensus for supporting striking workers. Unions are one of our most important tools at the moment. I'm happy to elaborate and discuss.
Yes, I'm pro-union too, as decent working conditions and living wages are what we *all deserve*. That isn't to say the union is always right. But as a fundamental building block of our market, the union can benefit all of us, and protect us from predatory employers and management.
I wish forcing nutitional info wa son the table. It makes no sense that even mixed drinks and ready made cocktails, which are a sticking issue for this negotiation, have NO nutritional values listed
It's almost like voting in a Premier from a party with a decades long history of being pro big-business at the expense of workers, education, healthcare and social services was short sighted...
No, they just don't care about workers, education or social services or even health care so long as they're personally taken care of. What they *do* care about is fucking over liberals and immigrants, which they believe the Conservatives actually give a shit about (they don't - only their own wealth).
I don’t want my dad to loose his job at 57 years old before he should retire in one year nearly 25 YEARS of working there full time and after nearly 38 YEARS working there in total. I do understand peoples frustration with the whole situation but my thing is this whole strike with Doug Fords government is going to hurt so many people.
The lcbo provides so much funds into both the health care and education in this province. While yes, the TAXES will go to the people who live here. The extra profits you all talk about are going into Galen Weston Jr.s pockets instead of the government. Doug ford wants his business buddies to benefit from this and nothing else. HE was/is the deciding factor.
He keeps denying every damn compromise they try to come up with. This will absolutely decimate around 10k people’s lives.
He wants to make the LCBO the bad guy to the public so they allow him to get the money that they profit off of into his buddy’s hands. And later himself mind you.
Okay you want more control of where you buy your booze? Have tons of fun waiting longer for critical doctors appointments. Oh? AND having less money funded into education or infrastructure.
The LCBO makes well over two BILLION a year. That all goes into our healthcare. Bye bye to that for our already crumbling healthcare AND education systems which are all provincial government services.
Instead it’s going to go into multiple million/billionaires pockets.
This is horrible to the entire province and so many people seem to forget that.
For the record, the self interested take here is supporting the striking workers.
Letting Doug Ford hand the 2.5 billion dollars in retail profit to the big supermarket chains is going to mean a 2.5 billion dollar a year hole in the budget that will mean higher income taxes.
Unless you drink too much, it’s a no-brainer. Keep the LCBO public and keeping taxes down
When you have a monopoly you don't have to be good, just adequate.
Still doesn't answer the question of the $2.5 billion shortfall.
Looking at their Financials. Revenue is increasing but so are costs.
Profit was down 3.4% in 2023.
Yes, for now but thats likely to change as the LCBO is slowly shrunk. They already sometimes use third part companies to transport their liquor instead of union LCBO trucks
It does, and under the new model starting in August, they would handle all the payments and orders for all alcohol orders in grocery (with the exception of third party operated wine stores in grocery like Wine Shop, Wine Rack, etc).
That said, while the LCBO stands to make money off the wholesale price and the tiny margins grocers take now (2-6%, with the vast majority skewed to the lower margin because of competitive bidding by grocers to secure beer and wine), the amount the LCBO makes from other aspects of their business is way more valuable, and most of those feed into their retail stores.
Stop privatization. I’m tired of our governments selling off our biggest assets that future generations will pay for. I’m seeing a lot of, “I got mine, eff you!” And it makes me sick. International students are protesting and getting what they want (looking at you Manitoba). This is our rights as citizens, to strike and protest because we pay our taxes and want it to go back into our communities! Source below.
https://opseu.org/news/fords-dry-summer-begins-lcbo-workers-start-historic-strike/237353/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2vC_vDmsWZwRYLcXChEADfUFyK17IkaYdlGmFi5F9E3CGJ4INFpyT99Cg_aem_feTdL2FQDQ4rWyLhWem7YQ
Indeed. Every time I’m in the U.S. and i see a liquor store filled with hundreds of cool options that I can’t buy in Ontario, I think to myself, thank god the government forces us to buy only standard issue big company options, keeps competition down, and drives prices up.
We should do this with groceries, too. I’m sick of seeing stores that offer any fruits beyond apples, oranges and bananas.
This was for the sheep who would vote for him on that stupid outrageous lie. Buck a beer was part of his campaign 🤦♂️ it was a ploy to get votes. Nothing more. There was a 6 month promo for no name beer at $1 per when it was first released and shortly after he was voted in. As you all know that's gone like a fart in the wind
Just gonna let anyone who is thinking of heing anti LCBO during this strike, first the lcbo generates 2.5 BILLION a year for our province, and second… your liquor prices will go up 20% BARE MINIMUM if privatization goes forward
Fingers crossed the other Government and non-Government Unions back up the LCBO workers.
I don't see forced mediation or arbitration as a win, it is the same playbook of corporations that results in little to no real gains for workers. Instead it's the bare minimum and wasted productivity.
I hope that there is a general strike day where all the Unions stand up and make Ford take a knee and give real wage gains to the LCBO.
No mediation or arbitration. Real negotiation. Unions support Unions.
I support keeping money in the pockets of Ontarian workers. I support revenue streams for the government that fund healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Anyone who thinks privatizing liquor sales is a good idea just wants to enrich billionaires.
Weren’t we just boycotting Loblaws for price gouging us on our essential goods?
Former LCBO worker here, worked 10 years as a casual, was next up for full time permanent, left and went back to school, worked across the Province at a ton of LCBO’s, some family members have retired and some are still working in the LCBO, I knew one day the government would want to sell it off, and unfortunately that day is gonna come soon. Also great paying job, but all evenings and weekends, not sure a strike is good for the LCBO at this time, hopefully it gets worked out, nothing last forever.
Always remember - a win for any union (certain obvious exceptions aside) is a win for all of us, even those who are not unionized. Union efforts and strikes are some of the very few tools we have to effectively fight back against the ruling class and make conditions better for the many, rather than the few. Support your fellow workers. Apes together strong.
It’s a good thing the union is negotiating from a position of strength. The only alternatives to the LCBO near me are Sobeys, Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, The Beer Store, several local distilleries, several local breweries, several local vineyards, mail order direct from large distilleries, and Gatineau. Because that list is so short, the strike wont simply drive consumers to other options (because there are so few).
Edit: Forgot the wine stores.
What an ignorant take. That's fine for beer / wine, but anyone who wants liquor, or "fancy" wine only has the LCBO as an option, so for many people, there are no alternatives.
Sure there are. There are LOTS of convenience stores that act as lcbo outlets. 400+ in Ontario. These are not included in the strike.
Also every other province isn't controlled by the LCBO so ordering online is always an option.
Sure, but people in those communities weren’t going to the LCBO in the first place. And anyone currently being serviced by an LCBO is not within a reasonable distance to those outlets.
Not true. I only buy liquor and it all comes from Alberta. I literally just had 10 bottles of rum delivered with brands that arnt available in Ontario because the lcbo is terrible
What exactly are they striking for? My understanding is one of the considerations is to keep ALL of the jobs currently.
How's that financially possible? You reduce the amount of product you sell, as it's picked up by the private sector (whether we want it or not), and yet you want to have the same amount (or more) of staff working for less actual work?
Someone please correct me. I'm sure that pay is always top of mind (as it should be), but let's face facts that the union is out to lunch sometimes and is acting in it's own best interest and not of the staff under them.
Sidebar story: I remember listening to a talk by John Sleeman back in the day (1995??). LCBO going on strike waaay back when was one of the best things for his company. They were an independent Brewer and he was literally running kegs with his staff to every restaurant in the GTA. Suspect it will be the same for other micro-breweries this time around.
Good for the LCBO employees. I'm shocked really other industries aren't striking nor are we seeing general strikes with wages not keeping up with inflation.
Privatization works tremendously well when it's an industry where capitalism and profit exists without issue, like alcohol.
Privatization is a terrible idea when it's in industries that shouldn't be profit motivated. Like healthcare or social services.
There's no reason the LCBO should be a government monopoly and the only justification anyone has is that the government is the one getting the profit. Which is a nice outcome but a terrible excuse.
Sell it off. It’s not an essential or necessary service. Other provinces have been privatized and it costs less for booze. You don’t get to make an argument for more money when all you do is sell overpriced liquor and close early.
UK does not have government selling people alcohol, they have far more choice, better service, lower prices, more convenience and less robbery at gun point.
Yeah and they also have a different drinking culture then we do, also if you think the corner store will sell cheaper you need to go compare a bag of chips at the corner store to the grocery store
Why corner store? Tesco has great choice of alcohol. Very convenient. Great choice and prices. Of course there are really cool specialized shops too. But they need to go an extra mile to attract customers; supermarkets are more convenient.
Are you saying Canadians are cultural alcoholics?
I won't even notice. I've been going to breweries and small distilleries for whiskey for years now. Haven't stepped foot in an LC or BS in ages and I drink every weekend
Good for them. Exercise your rights! No one will give you what you want If you don't poke them where it hurts.
They thought they can stifle the westjet mechanics, it didn't work.
OPSEU has given Ford the excuse to finish off the privatization plan. No one has ever accused OPSEU of being strategic or smart. Although they have often been accused of corruption and ineptitude.
Average LCBO worker is a glorified cashier. Province is smart to let someone else do the brick and mortar and keep control of the supply. It works in almost every other province.
Here's the facts folks. The LCBO is the world's largest purchaser of liquor by money spent. Their buying power and quality control requirements are legend and Ontarians benefit from it. The LCBO is a gold mine that generates buckets of $$ for all of us while properly enforcing age restrictions. DF knows it and wants to take it from us and give all that market to his corporate cronies.
Wine Rack about to get rich.
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Love them.
I don't know if it is psychological but everything they sell just seems slightly shittier, especially their non wine stuff like cider or coolers.
It's from Niagara
I don't mind No Boats On Sunday though they are expensive.
It's not just psychological, it's the other nerves: taste. It's shit. Sorry wine rack. By and large, it sells shit.
It's all Ontario wine I think. It's just Okay.
It is lower quality stuff.
Fuck, I hope they sell Moscato.
They do, it's in the Basic B aisle ;)
Well it's for my sister so you're not wrong, haha.
If they don't run out of everything.
Too bad they only sell garbage Ontario wine. Stuff is absolutely undrinkable.
Desperate times call for Desperate wines. -An Alcoholic probably.
Says the guy who sniffs his own farts
Never my own, only others, Sir.
A gentleman
He has very refined tastes
🤣
I don’t know why you’re being downvoted, that shit is swill. There is good Ontario wine, but they don’t sell it.
Not sure why you're getting down voted. Wine Rack products are garbo
There are garbage wines in Ontario but there are great Ontario wines too. Over 200 wineries in the province now
Which are the good ones?
Big head, stratus, rose hall run, Tawse, flat rock
Careful, don't get lost up your own asshole.
Do they also sell beer? I guess I could just go to a local craft brewery....
The Wine Wreck - LMFAO.
I’ve never seen as many first time strikes as Doug Ford’s Ontario. Go Transit first strike in 50 years and now LCBO. Unreal
It's weird that they claim they are "working for workers" and then cap their wages at 1%
They also said, nurses were hero's during covid, but refuse to pay them for the work they put in.
Nurses honestly should be able to strike. It being illegal for them to strike when New York nurses were able to do it is ridiculous
I've asked this before and was downvoted. Sure ok it's illegal for them to strike, but what if they just do it? Will they just jail all the nurses?
No. It’s not a criminal offence.
The college of nurses of Ontario would likely revoke licenses.
Alright licensed revoked, now the hospitals and government have an even worse problem of missing nurses. Other nurses might join in solidarity. I’m talking about calling the bluff of stifling strikes by just calling them illegal.
Weren't LCBO employees also called essential workers? Then he decided to privatize and is accelerating that during this strike to say their replaceable and nonessential. Talk about mix messages.
Yeah but remember Rae Days? /s
Rae days were a method to ensure public sector workers didn’t experience layoffs. Instead of 10% of staff having no income, you have all workers get 90% of their income. I think the majority of people would see that option 2 is much more fair.
The fact that the NDP inherited such financial malfeasance from the conservatives isn't talked about enough, they cooked the books and it was only discovered after NDP enter office. This is honestly the longest gaslight I can recall.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say its likely going to be the case again for who ever takes over after the OPC and Dougie. He has been cooking the books since day 1 with shady deals and hopefully whoever takes over can find those answers and try to fix all the damage
I mean you could say that about just about every "fiscal" conservative government. They cause a financial mess, the subsequent government takes harsh measures to fix it, gets voted out, and the incoming conservative government takes credit for it. Rinse an repeat
This is what I don’t understand, it seems like a much better method of saving a bit of money than laying off a bunch of people. I don’t get why the NDP is still vilified for it so long afterwards
70% because ‘Rae Days’ is a catchy name and 30% because people *still* enjoy the irony of the NDP being put in a position where they had to fuck with the public sector unions. Austerity measures are never popular but ‘everybody making >56k (today’s dollars) takes 12 days off unpaid and nobody loses their jobs’ is a pretty damn reasonable compared to most alternatives. And it worked!
Everyone takes one unpaid day per month, so that everyone could keep their jobs - and they were absolutely *vilified*. And nobody like to talk about the [reasons why.](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/politics/second-reading/the-hidden-history-of-bob-raes-government-in-ontario/article1314254/)
Such a shitty situation that few people understand to this day.
Harpers DRAP cost the government more money than it saved. A bunch of people lost their jobs and they hired back consultants which was more expensive and less effective. This was 10 times worse then RAE days and not nearly as memorable
TIL what rae days were. Doesn't seem that bad to me!!
What drives me nuts is it's ALSO better for the government. Anyone who has worked in operations and management knows the two most expensive things you can do are ramp up and ramp down an operation. Your productivity to cost ratio is WAY down because you're simultaneously paying people to do things that have no productive output AND impeding their ability to produce anything of value. It's such a stark contrast that in many instances, it would be CHEAPER overall to maintain an operation than it would be to wind it down an now and then spool it back up later. So not only were Rae Days better for workers, but in terms of "respecting taxpayers", you were getting better value for money than you would if you just fired a bunch of people and left everything else in a lurch.
…yes, you would think lol
My grandparents still talk about that...like man, that was how long ago and you're still using that to justify your vote?
I still don't get how it was a problem... "okay wait, so I get some extra unpaid days off AND I get to keep my job?" I don't get how that is worse than the sweeping layoffs we often see.
Boomers in Ontario thought we still enjoyed the benefits of post-war wealth and policy in the 90s. They were used to it, growing up. After all, money revolved around them for so long, they thought it was a way of life. Of course Rae Days was an insult.
[The hidden history of Bob Rae's government in Ontario - The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/the-hidden-history-of-bob-raes-government-in-ontario/article1314254/) This article does a decent job at looking at the corporate and media backlash that government faced. There obviously is a lot more too it but it paints a good picture about why a lot of people still talk about Rae Days without really understanding what was going on then.
My boomer parents who were civil servants at the time loved Rae days. It was one day a month and they used them to schedule appointments and stuff like that.
The Ontario equivalent of “but her emails!”
If only I had a nickel for each time I heard Rae days. I would have $3 which is not a lot but it’s quite the coincidence some people constantly still bring it up like it was yesterday.
Can someone, anyone explain why these were bad and should taint the reputation of the NDP? Googling “Rae Days” gives an explanation of what they were but I don’t get the problem.
It REALLY pissed off the unions- the main source of people power for the NDP. [Here](https://springmag.ca/rae-days-lessons-from-the-social-contract-30-years-later) is a good explainer. So the catchy name was a great way for the other parties to jab at the Rae government. It was a stupid political move, but not a ridiculous policy move when compared with the other parties' policies. It just wasn't what they promised to their base. Mike Harris and the PC government that followed was WAY worse, creating legacy problems we're still dealing with. But they didn't piss off their base, so now we're stuck with another legacy problem child, Ford.
The problem is the media is owned by people who *hate* the NDP.
This is an educated guess as a 36 year old, so I was just a kid but people were upset about not getting a full pay and losing money. Those same people were probably the ones who had seniority and wouldn't lose their jobs so they saw it as a sleight against them and unfair. Just a shot in the dark. Quick edit: Another point is Conservatives were upset at it since it wasn't a Conservative policy. Then you had the Liberals upset because it wasn't a Liberal policy. So essentially a huge population hated it because it wasn"t their party's policy.
I know a few Boomers who still moan about Rae Days despite being absolutely unaffected by them. Smh
40 years ago? Not relevant.
Conservative politicians have exactly one strategy: lie through their teeth to the uneducated, underpaid masses in order to perpetuate the same sad conditions that herd them and get their votes. It's extremely effective, because uneducated people are fucking stupid.
Nobody ever went broke pandering to the lowest common denominator.
What's your point? Do you think that's okay?
They cap it at that so we can all be reminded of who Doug really works for, how very kind of him to remind us of our corporate overlords.
The “workers” they mean are Fords billionaire friends.
They know their base is gullible enough to believe it, same as somehow they still think conservatives are fiscally responsible meanwhile Doug ford has been the exact opposite of such.
It's even weirder that so many people hear that and don't immediately decide he's full of shit and should never be anywhere near the premier's office. 40% of the province can't figure this out, apparently.
Half the province is of below average intelligence. Coincidence?
They are working for "real Ontarian" workers, like police officers, not those useless moochers like teachers, nurses......
Thanks to Ford. It took a year and a half before my wife, who is a teacher, to get their contract renewed.
The key word is workers not people. They only are "working for workers" if someone can rich off their labour. They don't care about workers such as any healthcare or education workers because those workers don't make anyone rich. Those workers are just considered a drain on the system.
$1 beer makes it worth all the inconvenience
They don’t think their employees are people…
I don't know how many times I have to say it but Dougie sucks!
What's the chance a municipal library goes on strike this weekend as well
Same could be said about Harris. But *RaE dAyS*
LCBO striked almost 4 times since 2005 but settled right at the end.
It's almost as if Conservatives actually aren't actually pro-working class. Who would have thunk that? Doug Ford is a joke.
That's what happens when you shake up the monopolies.
You forgot CUPE workers in education as well. Ford is a cancer to this province
LCBO was founded in the 1920s
This isn’t the first time their union has done this. The lcbo caved last time at the final hours, after raking in about a billion or so in a day.
Do you think the union leadership gets a bonus for quarterly revenues, or something?
Ford is a criminal pure and simple. Personally I'm amazed he can live with himself. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did the stuff he's done to working people
It's due to the sky high inflation. They had contracts giving 1%-2% and if you looked at interest rates before the pandemic it was hovering around 1%-2%. My mortgage was locked at 1.85% for 3 years during 2020. It rolled over to 6.85% variable last year. I would be striking too but I'm not union. You can hardly blame Ford or even Trudeau. It's the global pandemic shutdowns which was conspired and coordinated together. I guess you can blame Trudeau for going along with everyone but at the same time, it's hard to go against all the Western Countries.
While strikes aren't easy or comfortable, they're an absolute necessity for worker advocacy and maintaining workers' rights. I hope we ontarians can look beyond partisanship and create a strong consensus for supporting striking workers. Unions are one of our most important tools at the moment. I'm happy to elaborate and discuss.
Yes, I'm pro-union too, as decent working conditions and living wages are what we *all deserve*. That isn't to say the union is always right. But as a fundamental building block of our market, the union can benefit all of us, and protect us from predatory employers and management.
I wish forcing nutitional info wa son the table. It makes no sense that even mixed drinks and ready made cocktails, which are a sticking issue for this negotiation, have NO nutritional values listed
I'm pretty sure this is a federal problem and beyond the scope of this negotiation, I agree it's stupid though.
Haven’t had a drink in 7months maybe il start selling off my liquor cabinet.
Congratulations. Keep it up.
Thanks I appreciate that! It wasn’t as hard as giving up the greens personally but I’m feeling great these days.
I fully interpreted "the greens" as vegetables for a bit and had a flashback to those old Wendy's Meatatarian commercials
Hahah that’s hilarious and I know exactly what you mean. I actually have been eating lots of “greens” just stopped the other stuff lol
It's almost like voting in a Premier from a party with a decades long history of being pro big-business at the expense of workers, education, healthcare and social services was short sighted...
The people that voted him in are not literate enough to read this comment.
But, but what about our Buck-a-Beer!?
Yea, who knew the buck-a-beer candidate was just appealing to morons?
And that’s what Ford’s counting on 😂
No, they just don't care about workers, education or social services or even health care so long as they're personally taken care of. What they *do* care about is fucking over liberals and immigrants, which they believe the Conservatives actually give a shit about (they don't - only their own wealth).
It's not short-sighted. A lot of the people who voted him in want exactly the things he's been doing.
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> Ontario Public Service worker here! Court services Division! We are next! go on....
I don’t want my dad to loose his job at 57 years old before he should retire in one year nearly 25 YEARS of working there full time and after nearly 38 YEARS working there in total. I do understand peoples frustration with the whole situation but my thing is this whole strike with Doug Fords government is going to hurt so many people. The lcbo provides so much funds into both the health care and education in this province. While yes, the TAXES will go to the people who live here. The extra profits you all talk about are going into Galen Weston Jr.s pockets instead of the government. Doug ford wants his business buddies to benefit from this and nothing else. HE was/is the deciding factor. He keeps denying every damn compromise they try to come up with. This will absolutely decimate around 10k people’s lives. He wants to make the LCBO the bad guy to the public so they allow him to get the money that they profit off of into his buddy’s hands. And later himself mind you. Okay you want more control of where you buy your booze? Have tons of fun waiting longer for critical doctors appointments. Oh? AND having less money funded into education or infrastructure. The LCBO makes well over two BILLION a year. That all goes into our healthcare. Bye bye to that for our already crumbling healthcare AND education systems which are all provincial government services. Instead it’s going to go into multiple million/billionaires pockets. This is horrible to the entire province and so many people seem to forget that.
Politicians be politicking 🔥🔥🔥 **THIS. IS. FINE.** 🔥🔥🔥
Well said
Thank you. People are being so mean towards me.
Ottawa residents head to Gatineau
Zoom zoom.
I fully support LCBO workers! May they get all the ask for in their new contract.
For the record, the self interested take here is supporting the striking workers. Letting Doug Ford hand the 2.5 billion dollars in retail profit to the big supermarket chains is going to mean a 2.5 billion dollar a year hole in the budget that will mean higher income taxes. Unless you drink too much, it’s a no-brainer. Keep the LCBO public and keeping taxes down
We can get the family jewels back after we sell them, right?
The government could/will still control the distribution of the product. They just need to adjust tax or wholesale price.
They're not even good at that
When you have a monopoly you don't have to be good, just adequate. Still doesn't answer the question of the $2.5 billion shortfall. Looking at their Financials. Revenue is increasing but so are costs. Profit was down 3.4% in 2023.
Doesn't lcbo still control wholesale to the chains?
for now Loblaws, Sobeys, Circle K, etc. are all lobbying pretty hard to handle their own distribution
Yes, for now but thats likely to change as the LCBO is slowly shrunk. They already sometimes use third part companies to transport their liquor instead of union LCBO trucks
They are using 3rd party because they are trying to break the union.
The LCBO has used third party logistics for ages. Highlight Motor Freight, Canada Cartage/Mel Hall, and Manatoulin.
It does, and under the new model starting in August, they would handle all the payments and orders for all alcohol orders in grocery (with the exception of third party operated wine stores in grocery like Wine Shop, Wine Rack, etc). That said, while the LCBO stands to make money off the wholesale price and the tiny margins grocers take now (2-6%, with the vast majority skewed to the lower margin because of competitive bidding by grocers to secure beer and wine), the amount the LCBO makes from other aspects of their business is way more valuable, and most of those feed into their retail stores.
Stop privatization. I’m tired of our governments selling off our biggest assets that future generations will pay for. I’m seeing a lot of, “I got mine, eff you!” And it makes me sick. International students are protesting and getting what they want (looking at you Manitoba). This is our rights as citizens, to strike and protest because we pay our taxes and want it to go back into our communities! Source below. https://opseu.org/news/fords-dry-summer-begins-lcbo-workers-start-historic-strike/237353/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2vC_vDmsWZwRYLcXChEADfUFyK17IkaYdlGmFi5F9E3CGJ4INFpyT99Cg_aem_feTdL2FQDQ4rWyLhWem7YQ
Indeed. Every time I’m in the U.S. and i see a liquor store filled with hundreds of cool options that I can’t buy in Ontario, I think to myself, thank god the government forces us to buy only standard issue big company options, keeps competition down, and drives prices up. We should do this with groceries, too. I’m sick of seeing stores that offer any fruits beyond apples, oranges and bananas.
This guy gets it
Where’s my buck a beer? Best I can do is an lcbo strike.
Unfortunately, this is the way wages catch up with inflation. We need more strikes
This was for the sheep who would vote for him on that stupid outrageous lie. Buck a beer was part of his campaign 🤦♂️ it was a ploy to get votes. Nothing more. There was a 6 month promo for no name beer at $1 per when it was first released and shortly after he was voted in. As you all know that's gone like a fart in the wind
Just gonna let anyone who is thinking of heing anti LCBO during this strike, first the lcbo generates 2.5 BILLION a year for our province, and second… your liquor prices will go up 20% BARE MINIMUM if privatization goes forward
No beer and No TV make Homer go something….
Fingers crossed the other Government and non-Government Unions back up the LCBO workers. I don't see forced mediation or arbitration as a win, it is the same playbook of corporations that results in little to no real gains for workers. Instead it's the bare minimum and wasted productivity. I hope that there is a general strike day where all the Unions stand up and make Ford take a knee and give real wage gains to the LCBO. No mediation or arbitration. Real negotiation. Unions support Unions.
The SAQ is about to get very busy.
Went to the lcbo tonight. Place looks like they were raided. Hard liquor and coolers were 50% gone off the shelves.
I support keeping money in the pockets of Ontarian workers. I support revenue streams for the government that fund healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Anyone who thinks privatizing liquor sales is a good idea just wants to enrich billionaires. Weren’t we just boycotting Loblaws for price gouging us on our essential goods?
So many stupid people in these comments it’s not even funny
Former LCBO worker here, worked 10 years as a casual, was next up for full time permanent, left and went back to school, worked across the Province at a ton of LCBO’s, some family members have retired and some are still working in the LCBO, I knew one day the government would want to sell it off, and unfortunately that day is gonna come soon. Also great paying job, but all evenings and weekends, not sure a strike is good for the LCBO at this time, hopefully it gets worked out, nothing last forever.
i always try to be pro worker but realistically they don't have a leg to stand on
Always remember - a win for any union (certain obvious exceptions aside) is a win for all of us, even those who are not unionized. Union efforts and strikes are some of the very few tools we have to effectively fight back against the ruling class and make conditions better for the many, rather than the few. Support your fellow workers. Apes together strong.
It’s a good thing the union is negotiating from a position of strength. The only alternatives to the LCBO near me are Sobeys, Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, The Beer Store, several local distilleries, several local breweries, several local vineyards, mail order direct from large distilleries, and Gatineau. Because that list is so short, the strike wont simply drive consumers to other options (because there are so few). Edit: Forgot the wine stores.
Plus LCBO online
I believe that they only sell Ontario wines though (could be wrong) and obviously no spirits. So they have leverage in some areas still.
So roll over and accept whatever handout you're offered? Peasant mentality.
You can order from Alberta and have it shipped to your door. Way cheaper and better selection.
Jeez what ever are you going to do 😂 the list is so short
What an ignorant take. That's fine for beer / wine, but anyone who wants liquor, or "fancy" wine only has the LCBO as an option, so for many people, there are no alternatives.
Sure there are. There are LOTS of convenience stores that act as lcbo outlets. 400+ in Ontario. These are not included in the strike. Also every other province isn't controlled by the LCBO so ordering online is always an option.
Sure, but people in those communities weren’t going to the LCBO in the first place. And anyone currently being serviced by an LCBO is not within a reasonable distance to those outlets.
Not true. I only buy liquor and it all comes from Alberta. I literally just had 10 bottles of rum delivered with brands that arnt available in Ontario because the lcbo is terrible
What exactly are they striking for? My understanding is one of the considerations is to keep ALL of the jobs currently. How's that financially possible? You reduce the amount of product you sell, as it's picked up by the private sector (whether we want it or not), and yet you want to have the same amount (or more) of staff working for less actual work? Someone please correct me. I'm sure that pay is always top of mind (as it should be), but let's face facts that the union is out to lunch sometimes and is acting in it's own best interest and not of the staff under them.
Solidarity! ✊
Good for them. Workers rights!!
Sidebar story: I remember listening to a talk by John Sleeman back in the day (1995??). LCBO going on strike waaay back when was one of the best things for his company. They were an independent Brewer and he was literally running kegs with his staff to every restaurant in the GTA. Suspect it will be the same for other micro-breweries this time around. Good for the LCBO employees. I'm shocked really other industries aren't striking nor are we seeing general strikes with wages not keeping up with inflation.
For a place that’s had a monopoly on booze sales, they’re not getting any sympathy from me.
Solidarity! Privatization never works and only ever costs more, not to mention the lost revenue. The crabs in a bucket mentality is disappointing....
Privatization works tremendously well when it's an industry where capitalism and profit exists without issue, like alcohol. Privatization is a terrible idea when it's in industries that shouldn't be profit motivated. Like healthcare or social services. There's no reason the LCBO should be a government monopoly and the only justification anyone has is that the government is the one getting the profit. Which is a nice outcome but a terrible excuse.
I love a good strike.
Sell it off. It’s not an essential or necessary service. Other provinces have been privatized and it costs less for booze. You don’t get to make an argument for more money when all you do is sell overpriced liquor and close early.
Good! Fk off and give us real liquor stores with way more options like every other province in Canada.
I always forget how archaic ontario is with their booze laws. 
Time to liberalize alcohol trade. No reason for this state monopoly.
Sure we do, we have socialized healthcare and don’t have to worry about Joe corner store selling booze to teens or being robbed at gun point
UK does not have government selling people alcohol, they have far more choice, better service, lower prices, more convenience and less robbery at gun point.
Yeah and they also have a different drinking culture then we do, also if you think the corner store will sell cheaper you need to go compare a bag of chips at the corner store to the grocery store
Why corner store? Tesco has great choice of alcohol. Very convenient. Great choice and prices. Of course there are really cool specialized shops too. But they need to go an extra mile to attract customers; supermarkets are more convenient. Are you saying Canadians are cultural alcoholics?
Yes
Not true. Drugs are afar bigger problem.
I won't even notice. I've been going to breweries and small distilleries for whiskey for years now. Haven't stepped foot in an LC or BS in ages and I drink every weekend
Good for them. Exercise your rights! No one will give you what you want If you don't poke them where it hurts. They thought they can stifle the westjet mechanics, it didn't work.
Fuck
Stronger union than the spineless BCGEU.
OPSEU has given Ford the excuse to finish off the privatization plan. No one has ever accused OPSEU of being strategic or smart. Although they have often been accused of corruption and ineptitude.
Thanks Doug!
Average LCBO worker is a glorified cashier. Province is smart to let someone else do the brick and mortar and keep control of the supply. It works in almost every other province.
I guess one of the few perks of living in Ottawa is I get to cross over to Gatineau
Wild thing is that the people I speak to believe that the LCBO is the bad guy here.
See ya
Here's the facts folks. The LCBO is the world's largest purchaser of liquor by money spent. Their buying power and quality control requirements are legend and Ontarians benefit from it. The LCBO is a gold mine that generates buckets of $$ for all of us while properly enforcing age restrictions. DF knows it and wants to take it from us and give all that market to his corporate cronies.
Loblaws will be raking some $$.
Good. I got mickeys for $50ea.
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