Chair’s Message
Greetings,
With Winter in the proverbial rear-view mirror, I’m sure we can all agree that the emergence of Spring is a welcome change. We moved our clocks forward and despite gaining an extra hour of light, it’s hard to shake the feeling of political darkness both regionally and south of the border. With that said, I remain optimistic.
Like many of you, I was disappointed by the results of the provincial election.
$189-million wasted on an election that nobody asked for and failed to deliver the stronger mandate Ford said he needed. While Ford’s Conservatives lost a few seats from their 2022 majority win they did maintain their majority status, which means four more years of public service funding cuts and privatization – if we don’t fight back. It also means at least one more round of bargaining with a government obsessed with alcohol.
Have you noticed that whenever the Premier wants attention or gets himself in a sticky situation he announces changes to policies on alcohol sales in the province? It’s become his go-to solution to any economic or political ailment. Need to find a doctor? Here’s a booze map. Need to boost the retail sector? Let them sell booze. Need to respond to US tariffs? Remove all the US products from the LCBO shelves.
It seems Ford finally realized what we’ve been saying for years: the LCBO is Ontario’s greatest asset. I hope the Premier will continue to see the value in keeping the LCBO public. Unlike provinces with a fully privatized alcohol system such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, our Premier can leverage the extraordinary buying power of the LCBO and control the flow of US products in response to unfair tariffs. Ford was only able to do this because this public institution is still intact, despite his best efforts to dismantle it.
Despite Ford achieving another majority, I’m optimistic for our future because the power we have built together. It was because of your efforts in the last two rounds of bargaining rounds, that we finally saw unprecedented gains. It was your strength, resilience and willingness to organize, fight, and win that pushed back employer concessions and delivered some protection against privatization.
Let’s face it, Premier Ford being re-elected to a third term doesn’t erase the problems from his first two terms. We have crises in housing, health care, education, social services and infrastructure. We need to make sure these issues continue to haunt this government.
This past summer during our historic strike, we educated the province about how LCBO revenues – generated by our work – directly fund things like health care and education. And we showed him that we were prepared to strike to protect our jobs and those revenues.
He might think twice before coming after our jobs and the crown jewel of Ontario yet again But if he does, LCBO workers know what to do.
Friends, fighting with a majority conservative government is never easy. That’s why I’m urging you to stay involved in your local and to join us on our province-wide Zoom meetings.
The more organized we remain, the stronger we become – and when we’re strong, we can never be defeated. I know it, you know it and most importantly, the Ford government knows it.
Colleen MacLeod
Chair
Vice Chair / Grievance Committee
The Committee continues to meet and review the membership’s grievances. We have reviewed 189 grievances with the following breakdown: 87 grievances to arbitration, 66 to mediation/arbitration, 27 were put on hold seeking more information and 9 were withdrawn.
There have been six arbitration decisions for our members. Any member can view these decisions by going to the OPSEU website, under Members, Member Tools and Resources, Grievance Guidelines, Forms and Awards Database, LBED Grievance Awards Database.
The Division currently has six active policy grievances, including the employer’s ‘Value Add’ Policy and the employer’s Attendance Management Policy.
We would like to encourage all members to be familiar with the Collective Agreement and what articles pertain to them. We are in the enforcement stage of the collective bargaining cycle: keep filing those grievances!
Chair – Jeremy Trainor (L378)
Retail – Johnathon Pukila (L163)
Non-retail – Trisha Harrison (L164)
Secretary/Treasurer
Greetings!
The Divisional Executive met on February 26 & 27 and passed a motion to help provide some financial relief to locals in 2025.
The Division will not be invoicing locals for dues this year. We understand that last year was unprecedented and want locals to be financially prepared for the next round of bargaining. I will be sending a reminder to those locals that remain in arrears for 2024.
In Solidarity
Rachel Brunet
President Local 4100
LBED Secretary/Treasurer
Health & Safety Committee
Respectful Workplace Signs:
Over the last year, the Health and Safety Committee has brought forward concerns regarding the Respectful Workplace Signage. We are pleased to inform you that the new signage will be sent out to the retail stores in the coming month. The new signs contain language that will support employees when dealing with customers who act in a disrespectful, discourteous, or threatening manner.
Importance of Incident Reports:
Resource Protection has informed the committee that police have had increased success stopping theft and were able to apprehend a major theft ring as a result of details provided in incident reports completed by our members. They also said these reports are often the only leads that the police have to track down and make arrests in these cases.
Please continue to prioritize good quality incident reporting, as it is a very important step in maintaining our safety.
In Solidarity,
Debbie McGuinness – Chair, Local 5110
Greg Wilson – Local 164
Jonathan Pukila – Local 163
Communication & Education Committee
The communication & education committee has been working with the anti-privatization committee to plan when the committee will be holding their Zoom social for the membership. The committee is also in the planning stages of hosting a permanent part-time Zoom social to help inform members of what their rights are under the PPT guidelines in the collective agreement. The committee also continues to engage the membership on the official OPSEU/SEFPO LBED Facebook page and always responds to questions that are sent directly to them via direct message through Facebook.
In Solidarity,
Craig Hadley – Chair, Local 5109
Michael Hamilton – Local 376
Jessica Marciniak – Local 497
Anti-Privatization Committee
The Anti-Privatization Committee (APC) met in January and February. Two proposals were submitted to the Divisional Executive Committee and approved. Both proposals were then submitted to the OPSEU/SEFPO Executive Board Members and were approved unanimously. The first proposal focuses on alcohol market research and the collection of data to aid in future rounds of bargaining. The second approved proposal was to have an information table at the OPSEU/SEFPO 2025 Convention Marketplace. Come swing by, we are looking forward to seeing you there.
Lastly, the APC Zoom social has been rescheduled for mid-spring. We would be happy if you could attend. Stay tuned for more details!
Chair – Jamie Kensley (L681)
Tammy Rogers (L377)
Laurie Scuffell (L4100)
Pensions and Benefits Committee
The role of the Pensions and Benefits Committee is to address the pension and benefits concerns of members and locals including acting as an advisory body to the bargaining team. Our committee had an opportunity to meet and develop some changes to the Sick Credit Pool. Over the years our committee has been concerned with the recovery of days granted from the Pool. Recently we have had a change of staff from OPSEU/SEFPO to assist us with the Buyback letters. The committee is waiting for the result of days recovered.
For members who are eligible, Casual Benefits have been added to their Workday. Optional Out of County was also added to Workday. This is an optional benefit. Enrollment deadlines are approaching, so please make sure you submit on time.
We have been also working on updating our Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance moving to another provider. The Union has submitted a proposal regarding the Letter of Direction and waiting to hear back from the LCBO’s lawyers.
Chair: Shelly Robitaille (Local 162)
Member at Large: Greg Wilson (Local 164)
Member at Large Stephanie Hickman (Local 377)