With some final Christmas gifts still trickling in during the last few days of the year, it's another reason why Labour Disputes made it as #7 in our list of the top stories of the year.

Moose Jaw was impacted in a few different areas when it came to employees going on strike, not only was locals apart of the rotating strikes within Canada Post, but the one that seemed to have gotten the most attention was between the Moose Jaw Coop and the union that represents their employees, UFCW Local 1400. 

Coffee row buzzed for weeks regarding the discrepancy and the disagreements that were keeping workers on the pickets lines. The UFCW issued a strike notice at the start of October and promptly took to the picket line on the 2nd day of the month. 

After days of picketing, the Moose Jaw Co-op went back to the bargaining table with its union UFCW, an offer was made but an agreement couldn't be reached. The union members met the following Saturday to vote, but the majority rejected what was offered by Coop officials. The next Tuesday morning the local Co-op released a statement. 

“We want to let our customers know that we’re keeping our doors open to serve you, and we appreciate your patience as we work toward an agreement that balances the needs of all employees with the long-term viability of your Co-op,” said Gerry Onyskevitch, General Manager of Moose Jaw Co-op. “For more than 70 years, we’ve been a part of the Moose Jaw community. To make sure we can serve you for many more years, we need a deal that’s both fair for our employees and allows us to be competitive in the long-term.”

Onyskevitch also noted that he believed the accusations of women not receiving equal pay compared to men was unfounded, as he said women currently made more than men within the Moose Jaw Co-op in some cases. Noting that he appreciated and respected the employees who chose to join the picket line and participate in collective bargaining.

That Tuesday afternoon Rod Gillies, Director of Negotiations for the union, released more information regarding the rejection and when the two sides will meet again. 

"The result was the majority of the membership voted to reject the employers offer and October 19th has been confirmed for the next bargaining session and we've advised the employer that we would make ourselves available anytime if their calendars opened up and an earlier date could be found."

He said the union also believed that there was discrimination when it comes to the pay structure between men and women, and it's because of the way things are set up.

"78% of employees on this lower wage grid are women. This isn't surprising when the employers have set up the second tier which seems to target 6 classifications out of 23 classifications and the 6 classifications are 82% female dominated," said Gillies. "The rhetorical question that I have is, 'is the Co-op actually trying to find the lowest common denominator for wages?' This question is being asked in light of these employees, unlike the competitor's industries, are actually the owners of Co-op as well as the rest of the membership in the community."

On the 19th of October they met again, but unfortunately, it was a short chat as the representatives from UFCW left the table stating that Coop officials weren't willing to negotiate. The following week both sides released another set of statements. In the release put out by Coop, Onyskevitch expressed his concern with employees supporting competitors who have second and third tiers during the strike, which is something the union wanted to be abolished when the bargaining talks commenced. 

Gillies argued back saying the Coop isn't the only business going through this process right now. "What the General Manager neglected to say was that we are presently in negotiations with those competitors, negotiations with respect to wages is ongoing with all the competitors."

Onyskevitch also added that the second tier was something the union pushed for and voted in back in 2014. Gillies argued back once again saying that was a lifespan on that documentation, just like anything that can be changed or upgraded every few years. 

"I just wanted to make it clear that when a contract expires, all provisions in the contract are up for renewal. When we commenced bargaining the employer put forward many, many concessions and the union had put forward a list of improvement and all of those provisions within the contract were up for renegotiation."

Finally, after 36 days, an agreement was reached between the two sides, and officials from the Coop were quick to thank all parties and their customers for their patience. 

“We’re pleased an agreement was reached that was fair to both parties,” expressed Onyskevitch in a written release. "The new agreement preserves the wage scale that was negotiated for new employees in the previous collective agreement, a point that was critical to the long-term competitiveness of Moose Jaw Co-op. Our final offer reduces the wage difference between longer-term employees and those hired more recently. That’s ultimately what led to this deal. Moose Jaw Co-op is looking forward to welcoming employees back and extends its gratitude to those employees who continued working during the strike, as well as replacement workers and managers who stepped up to ensure the Co-op could continue to serve the community."

The postal strike that was also in effect around the same time was impacting more than just gifts getting to buyers before Christmas, even SGI was sending out a warning to their customers at the end of October saying customers will need to stay on top of their accounts and insurance as their mailed out reminders weren't always making it to people in time.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Swift Current who was apart of the rotating strikes across the country.