It’s finally here. The crunch is here.

Someone is rebelling against the price of groceries.

And it’s not a consumers’ group, or a food bank, or a political party – it’s workers in grocery stores in the Toronto area and here in Halifax. 

Journalists, politicians and some academics have been wringing their hands.  They tell us the 8.3% increase in food prices June 2022 – June 2022, is a burden – but they insist it is legitimate! Employers tell us the cost of shipping, the cost of gas and diesel, the cost of storage – let alone CEO pay — have all gone up.  Still, we know the farmers aren’t doing too well, though the middlemen seem to be doing fine, as do Canada’s three biggest supermarket chains (Loblaw, Sobeys and Metro) whose $100 billion in sales have added up to  profits in excess of $3.6 billion in 2022.

The big three grocery chains are making out like bandits– and have been since the start of the Pandemic. 

Big three grocery chains are making out like bandits

As far back as Nov. of 2022, experts warned that a family of four needed to pay at least $1,000 a month for groceries .  Today, with inflation, that number would be at least $1100 to $1200.  Let’s look at what typical grocery workers earn.  In NS, there are no unionized grocery workers on the mainland; there are some unionised supermarkets in Cape Breton.  The exception is Pete’s Frootique in Halifax.  It’s owned by Empire Company (a division of Sobeys). Workers there voted overwhelmingly for a union in March 2023,  – but as far as we know –they are still fighting for a first collective agreement.  They might also have to resort to strike action to win their demands.

In NS, Grocery clerks and cashiers typically earn less than $20 an hour; most can’t get enough work hours as the supermarkets prefer to keep their workers on part-time, so as not to pay benefits—and perhaps in part to ensure worker turnover so short-term employees are reluctant to “talk union”. 

Talk to a cashier and you’ll find she is making about $18 and works about 30 hours a week– that’s just over $500 a week.  According to UNIFOR, 70% of Metro workers are part-time. Take off income tax and payroll taxes (such as EI and CPP) and the cashier may take home $1800 a month. If she has to pay $1100 for food, she has $700 left.  Will $700 pay her rent or her mortgage, her utilities, plus her childcare and her bus fare?  I think not.  Even if the cashier is part of a couple and the family income is doubled – the net pay falls far short of covering the costs of living.

“Wowza”

Let’s switch to Toronto.  We know that more than 3700 grocery employees at 27 stores in the Metro chain have gone on strike this past weekend.   Though the workers’ union, UNIFOR, recommended the workers accept the new contract – the workers turned their backs on the executive, the bargaining and Lana Payne the union’s new president. As recently as ten days ago, Payne said  

“This is a milestone agreement that underscores Unifor’s deep commitment to grocery workers in the retail sector and our important work to advance their workplace rights. This agreement will lay the foundation for grocery workers across the country as workers, both unionized and non-unionized, make clear their urgent need for improved working conditions amidst a chronic affordability crisis.”

Lana Payne, president of UNIFOR

Turns out Metro’s UNIFOR members decided to reject and go on strike anyway. After all, Metro’s year-over-year sales grew 6.6% to $4.55 billion in the second quarter of 2023.  In the same quarter,  Metro earned $218.8 milllion in profits –a 10% increase from last year.

In its “Wowza” Join the Team recruitment ad on Youtube,  Metro does not post the pay for workers at their stores.  However, recruitment site Indeed.ca posts positions for bakers at Metro ($18.29hr); cashiers ($19.26/hr); order pickers ($19.61/hr) and warehouse workers ($21.50/hr).  Not one job surpasses Toronto’s living wage – which in 2022 was $22.15 an hour.

It seems the members are far ahead of their union executive.  The union members are willing to risk going on strike—despite their low pay and lack of savings.  Sure they get strike pay – but the $100 a week or so in strike pay is still less than 20% of what they would have earned in a month. 

We see time after time that union members are willing to do more to fight for their rights, and even to strike – the question is can the union leaders be trusted to lead?

Featured photograph: On strike at Metro. Note the smaller handmade sign says “I should be able to afford to shop here”. Indeed many grocery workers have to resort to using foodbanks. (photo credit: Alexandra Heck/Metroland)