Residents may soon be seeing picket lines at Save-On Foods.With employee contracts expiring March 29, Save-On union representatives announced they will hold a strike vote for stores under Overwaitea contracts from Squamish to Hope next week.UFCW 1518 President Ivan Limpright announced at a meeting of shop stewards on Monday night (March 31) that a temporary dues increase vote will accompany the strike vote, and will be conducted as a mail-in ballot to all members in B.C.The announcement was greeted unanimously by a standing ovation from everyone in the packed meeting room, according to a union press release."There is a serious wage problem. It's a serious problem, but it's not complicated - in fact it's pretty simple - the wages aren't high enough," said Limpright. "Tied in directly with that, is the fact that the two-tier contract doesn't work either. It kills any realistic hope for opportunity, for the ability to see some light at the end of the tunnel, to be able to earn a living wage."Members from Save-On stores in Zone 1 - Squamish to Hope - will vote Thursday (April 10). Safeway members are scheduled to vote on Tuesday (April 8) while union members from the converted PriceSmart stores will vote Wednesday (April 9)."We have made it clear that we're here to negotiate a contract, not a labour dispute," said Limpright, "but we are not seeing any indications that either Overwaitea or Safeway are taking the issues seriously at this point."The time has come to send them a message, and we're asking the members to help deliver that message with a strike vote."In response to The Chief's enquiries, the Overwaitea media relations office issued a statement saying the company is "disappointed" in the union decision given the commitment on negotiators to arrive to a renewal agreement "everyone can feel good about" by April 30. The company also states that the union's claims of rollbacks are false. "We feel this action is unnecessary," read the statement, "as we've told them repeatedly that we want to bargain a fair renewal collective agreement that works for our team members and for our company. "And we have not asked to take anything away from any existing team member in any of our discussions with the UFCW Bargaining Committee. In other words, we have not asked for any rollbacks from current team members." Details on times and locations for the votes will be mailed to all union members, along with details on picket pay and the temporary dues, according to the union website.
