People stock up on booze at local LCBOs as strike deadline looms

Locals and tourists are stocking up on liquor before the Canada Day long weekend as the possibility of a Liquor Control Board of Ontario strike looms.

LCBO employees are in negotiations with management and if they can’t come to an agreement a strike will begin at a minute past minute tonight.

SooToday did a quick informal survey of customers buying alcohol at two LCBO locations before noon today.

We spoke with six people all of whom said they were stocking up on liquor in case there was a strike.

The large LCBO parking lot on Great Northern Road was a quarter full of cars just after the store opened at 11:00 a.m. this morning.

One location LCBO manager, name withheld, said they were definitely busier than normal but could not comment further.

In a recent Breakfast Television interview linked to on OPSEU’s website, union president Warren ‘Smokey’ Thomas said the negotiation sticking points are ‘quality of life issues’ not more pay.

Thomas said these include 84 per cent part time employment, shift scheduling, and cancellation of shifts.

In that interview Thomas was asked if he were going to make a bet, would he bet that a strike would occur?

‘I’d go on history. The last three rounds of bargaining with (the LCBO), they’ve always bragged afterwards how they’ve had record sales, how they moved all this product out, everything else. I think they’re kind of hooked on that sort of cycle now; whipping the public into a frenzy, selling all kinds of alcohol, then getting the deal. We’ve always gotten the deal in the eleventh hour,” said Thomas.