Liquor workers’ strike forces wine festival to postpone; MLL boss vague on strike’s effect on bottom line

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This article was published 16/08/2023 (802 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The increasingly bitter labour fight between Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries and its 1,400 striking unionized workers forced organizers to temporarily put a cork in the upcoming Winnipeg Wine Festival Wednesday.

MLL president and CEO Gerry Sul, meanwhile, refused to put a dollar figure on how the strike — now into its second week — and the rotating walkouts and lockouts that preceded it beginning in mid-July have affected the bottom line at Liquor Marts and the flow of revenue into the province’s coffers.

“We’re seeing some abnormal consumer purchase trends, not only from the public consumer, but our licensees and commercial operators out there,” Sul told the Free Press.

In the beginning, we started to see some negative trends, but what’s happened since… the beginning of August, we’ve seen some people almost panic-buying and stockpiling.

“Of course those extreme highs will balance out over time… so it’s difficult at this time to know if there’s any significant net impact to our contributions to the province for the end of the year.”

Sul said the few stores that are open to the public — in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson — are each averaging sales of $150,000-170,000 a day, while the location open to commercial purchasers is selling about $500,000 a day. He compared those sales figures to the height of the Christmas season.

He said the Crown corporation has been “littered with ups and downs” since the union job actions began last month.

“I wouldn’t want to portray a net impact that was greater than it was because I know it will balance out in time,” he said.

The workers represented by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ union have been without a contract since last year and are asking for wage increases in line with what Premier Heather Stefanson and her cabinet are set to receive — 3.3 per cent in 2023 and 3.6 per cent in both 2024 and 2025.

MLL issued its final offer July 13: two per cent annual increases, pay grade adjustments, one-time lump-sum payments and benefit enhancements in a four-year agreement.

The corporation announced Monday it had accepted an independent conciliator’s recommendation to take the impasse to binding arbitration.

MGEU president Kyle Ross said the workers are willing to consider arbitration, but accused the corporation and provincial government of bullying and acting in bad faith, as arbitration had not been formally offered to the union before the public announcement.

The finger-pointing has intensified this week as MLL hired replacement workers for some stores Monday and the union held a rally outside the legislature Tuesday.

Striking workers took to the podium, angry at claims from the Tories and MLL that the details of negotiations were being shielded from them by the union.

Ross said he was not privy to MLL’s financial information, but if the government and corporation are concerned about the bottom line, the two parties should resolve the dispute.

“We’re fighting for fairness, they get what we’re asking for,” he said. “This government had the opportunity to end this… but they choose to continue to stonewall us.”

“This government had the opportunity to end this… but they choose to continue to stonewall us.”–Kyle Ross

Ross said he thinks the public is on the union’s side, with picket lines receiving lots of support from passersby.

The wine festival, which had been scheduled to run Sept. 16-23 at the RBC Convention Centre, will be rescheduled, said a release issued Wednesday by Special Olympics Manitoba, the charitable organization that receives funds from the event.

“As you are all aware, the continuing… strike situation in Manitoba is rapidly evolving,” wrote Kathleen Mason, manager of fundraising events for the organization, adding the decision was made by the festival, Special Olympics Manitoba, MLL and Wines of Argentina.

“Based upon what is unfolding in the greater community… we feel this decision is prudent.”

The release said previously purchased tickets will be honoured for the new dates, which have not been determined.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

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Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.