Local News
Locked-out workers to hold community BBQ as they hit a year on the picket line
Workers locked out of their jobs at Moose Jaw’s Heritage Inn & Convention Centre will hold a public BBQ on Sep. 7 to commemorate a full year on the picket lines, after their employer locked the hotel’s doors at what turned out to be just the beginning of a labour dispute. “We hate to call it a celebration — it’s an acknowledgement that it’s been one whole year that the employer has locked us out,” said Lucy Figueiredo, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1400, the union representing workers in the dispute. “People have dwindled, in that they’ve gotten other jobs, so (workers) have been picketing less shifts. But for the most part, we have the same people picketing today as we had at the start of the lockout. They’re determined — this employer has chosen the lockout, so they’re not giving up.” The BBQ is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sep. 7, and will include smoked brisket (workers have challenged each other to a competition), while debate continues on whether the main menu will be tacos or beef-on-a-bun of some kind. There will also be salads, sides, and hotdogs for children. Organizers are expecting a crowd, thanks to what Figueiredo said is widespread community support. “I think it’s going to be pretty big. Just as sort of a reference, we had a Mother’s Day brunch there, and different labour organizations supported the picketers with getting them barbecues and tents and what looked like a buffet table, with all the proper equipment to keep things warm. “And it was so busy, the joke we had when we went through and counted the money we raised, is that we probably raised more from our Mother’s Day brunch outside than the Heritage Inn did from their Mother’s Day brunch inside.” In addition to informal public support, the UFCW Local 1400 has seen significant sponsorship help from the Moose Jaw Co-op, the Moose Jaw Real Canadian Superstore, the Moose Jaw & District Labour Council, and others. That support helps make events like next Saturday’s BBQ possible. “The (Hillcrest Apostolic) Church beside us have bent over backwards to make sure we have access to bathrooms, and if there’s a rally we get to use their parking lot. The gas station and Boston Pizza and all the businesses surrounding the hotel have been very supportive of the picketers. “People who live in Moose Jaw stop by frequently and donate. We’ve been trying to tell people, please,” Figueiredo laughed, “not just donuts anymore. Vegetables and fruit are great! But they’re constantly bringing, like, coffee and donations to the line. ... There’s a lot of labout support in Moose Jaw.” Figueiredo said the picketers are all quite tan and weathered after a year outside in the winter, in storms, and through the summer’s heat. Their position remains the same, however, as Figueiredo says their employer has refused to make any concessions in the bargaining process. She has only sat down for negotiations for two and a half days in total since the dispute began. The Saskatchewan Labour Board ruled in February that the Heritage Inn was bargaining in bad faith because they should have reasonably known that their proposals would be rejected by employees. Some of Heritage Inn's proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement included changes to the scope and removal of protection for bargaining unit work, the elimination of any guarantee of full-time employment, a change of seniority in relation to department and not the workplace, and the removal of paid bereavement leave. “It’s now not just indicative of the employer and their ability to lock people out,” Figueiredo added. “It’s also a comment on the law and the legislation that allows this to continue.”