Metro workers vow to stay off job 'as long as it takes' as strike enters 3rd day
CBC
Front-line grocery store workers at Metro, who are into their third day of a work stoppage, vowed on Monday to stay off the job until they get a fair deal from the company.
More than 3,000 store workers at 27 Metro locations in the Greater Toronto Area began strike action on Saturday after rejecting a tentative collective agreement reached last week between the company and their union — Unifor.
"We want the company to come back and give us a fair deal," Tammy Laporte told CBC Toronto outside Metro Danforth.
"We're on strike because we want fairness from our company. We want Metro to pay their workers what they're worth and we'll stand out here as long as it takes."
Unifor Local 414 represents some 3,700 grocery store workers across the GTA.
Unifor said stores affected by the strike include those in Toronto, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton, North York, Islington, Willowdale, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Newmarket and Scarborough.
Laporte, a produce and fruit clerk, who has worked with Metro for 25 years, said "wages is the top issue" for the workers.
"We want more money. They make great profits and we want to share in the benefits," she said.
WATCH: A metro worker struggles to hold back the tears as he speaks about the challenge of making ends meet:
Another worker, Austin Coyle said a "lack of respect" from Metro led to the strike.
Coyle struggled to hold back tears as he told a CBC reporter he's unable to make ends meet on his current pay.
"I'm living in debt at the moment. I can't afford my two-bedroom apartment. I live in Scarborough. I have an eight- year-old daughter. You know, it's not affordable. It's not," Coyle said.
Coyle, a meat manager, said he's among the highest paid employees, but "I can't afford to live in my own city. I can't afford to shop in my own store. It's kind of sad."
Mike Labatt, who has also worked with the company for 25 years, said the workers are "fighting for what they believe in and what they need to get by."
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