Alberta Sobeys distribution workers on strike

Over 200 workers at the Sobeys Rocky View Distribution Centre north of Calgary are now on strike as of Thursday.

The union says they are asking for industry standard wages, which they say in Alberta is between $28 and $30 an hour for a full-time warehouse employee.

“These employees are paid well below that and we’re just saying ‘Hey, we want them to standard’ because that is the right thing to be doing,” said Brock Penner, with Teamsters Local Union 987.

The union says the strike by workers was in response to Sobeys locking them out.

“If a union does not follow-up a lockout notice with a strike notice, two things happen to those workers: A.) they cannot be eligible for strike pay from their union and B.) the employer is then in a situation where they can give 24 hours notice that they could basically impose brand new working conditions,” explained Athabasca University Human Resources and Labour Relations professor Jason Foster.

The strike by the union is coming at a time where both private and public sector unionized employees — from education workers in Alberta, to Air Canada flight attendants, to Canada Post employees — are talking about or setting up to take job action against their employers.

“The last time we’ve seen a strike wave of this nature was during the high inflation period during the mid-1980s,” Foster added.

Penner agrees, saying, “Working class citizens — whether its in Alberta or in Canada — you can see by all the labour disputes that are going on they are fed up.”

In a statement to CityNews, Sobeys says it remains hopeful a resolution can be reached soon.

As for products on shelves, the grocery store chain says it doesn’t anticipate significant operational disruptions, as the facility being a fully automated warehouse.

Experts say, along with automation of distribution centres — like in Rocky View’s case — the grocery giant could have stocked up on products at stores or other warehouses along with ramping up direct-to-store deliveries as a way to mitigate product shortages.

“Before shelves become empty, it will take a while. We’ve seen this with other strikes in the past within Canada. The first two weeks customers will really not notice something. It’s not until past the 10-days, two week mark that customers will be able to see some items not there,” explained Marco Bijvank, Operations and Supply Chain Management Professor at the University of Calgary.