Newmarket shoppers flocked back to local Metros today as they opened for the first time after a month-long strike Sept. 5.
The stores re-opened to customers today after the end of a worker strike last Thursday. Although workers started back to work the following day, stores had to take time to restock as shelves were emptied near the beginning of the labour action.
At the Yonge Street Metro, shopper Allyssa Cunningham said she was happy to see the store reopen, with it being the closest grocery store to her home. But she said the strike was a fair action.
“It was really fair to support them. I think everyone should have the ability to live a comfortable life on minimum wage,” she said. “They should treat their workers fairly.”
Unionized employees at Newmarket’s two Metro locations were among members at 27 stores in total that went on strike at the end of July, as workers sought better wages. A new improved deal offered a more front-loaded wage increase and a $4.50 per hour wage increase over five years for full-time workers, averaging a 90 cents per year increase. However, some Newmarket workers expressed that the deal did not seem to be a significant enough improvement from what Metro offered before.
Shopper Frank Bardoul, who worked in a steel mill with a union for 37 years, said he supported the workers and brought a box of doughnuts to them during the strike. He said the strike did not bother him, but it is fine that workers are back to work.
“So long as they treat their employees properly and that they pay them appropriately because the way things are going in today’s economy, it’s getting harder and harder,” he said. “I’m OK with it as long as the employees are happy with it.”
Not everyone closely watched the strike action as it carried on for weeks.
“I didn’t get into the details of it,” shopper Elaine Culnam said. “It’s just unfortunate it went on for so long without getting attention to all the issues for both sides.”
Both Metro and the union representing the striking 27 stores, Unifor, expressed satisfaction with the deal. Workers ratified it at a meeting Thursday after not ratifying a negotiated deal in July. The union did not release the percentage results of the latest vote.
Customer Frank Pecchia said he is happy for Metro to be open again, as it is being closer to where he lives.
“I sympathize with the workers, who were probably underpaid,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with the fact that only certain stores were on strike, and others were not."
Metro stores are under several different unions, such as Unifor and the Union for Grocery Workers, meaning locations like the Aurora Metro remained open during the strike.
Karin Jurgens said she struggled to find other places to shop when the Metro close to her home closed.
“It lasted very long,” she said of the strike. “But, hopefully, they were able to get what they wanted.”
