Cannabis call centre workers vote to unionize

CalyxCrusher

Well-Known Member
https://www.thestar.com/news/cannabis/2019/03/12/cannabis-call-centre-workers-vote-to-unionize.html


Ontario Cannabis Store call centre workers have voted unanimously to unionize in a drive that put fair hours, scheduling and job security at centre stage, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

Around 20 Toronto-based employees of Line One Contact Centres, which provides call centre services to the OCS, voted Tuesday to join UFCW — although organizer Kevin Shimmin said the employer is challenging seven ballots cast by workers hired through a temp agency.


Around 20 Toronto-based employees of Line One Contact Centres, which provides call centre services to the OCS, voted Tuesday to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union. (Richard Vogel / AP FILE PHOTO)
Shimmin said the union is insisting that temp agency workers be extended the same protections as directly hired ones.

“The fight that might be coming up soon is just to make sure that everyone is treated equally,” he told the Star.

The call centre drive is part of a broader movement to unionize the cannabis sector, which has been plagued by complaints of precarious work; the Ontario Public Service Employees Union is also currently seeking to organize up to 200 warehouse workers at an OCS warehouse operated by contractor Domain Logistics.

At the Toronto call centre, the battle has sometimes been fraught: UFCW recently filed an unfair labour practice complaint against Line One for terminating an employee leading the union drive, according to documents seen by the Star.

The documents filed to the Ontario Labour Relations Board say the call centre worker Adam Jasar began discussing forming a union with his colleagues and supervisors in early February. He subsequently contacted UFCW, who met with workers later that month.

On Feb. 28, Jasar was told by his employer that he was being fired for telling an HR representative she would have a “tough time” negotiating contracts with employees, the labour board application says.

“Given the contextual facts and circumstances, there can be absolutely no doubt that Mr. Jasar was terminated as a reprisal for his union organizing activity, and that such termination was designed to intimidate other employees from exercising their right to join a union and to undermine the Union’s ongoing organizing activity,” the complaint reads.

In a statement to the star, Line One president Kyle Ostermann said the issue of “Whether the UFCW has been successful in its attempts to unionize Line One call centre workers is an issue presently before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and has yet to be finally determined.”

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He said the company had just received notice of the unfair labour practice complaint and intended to “vigorously defend” itself.

“The allegations contained in the complaint are entirely without merit,” he said.

In an emailed a statement, a spokesperson for the Ontario Cannabis Store said it was not its “place to comment on this as the call centre is not operated by OCS and this is a matter between the employer and its employees.”

Shimmin said the union’s priorities would be to obtain fair scheduling provisions and minimum hour guarantees, since workers at the call centre experience major shift fluctuations.

“You often don’t know one week to the next how many hours you’re going to get and even if you’re going to get any hours at all,” he said.

UFCW already represents thousands of workers in the cannabis sector in Quebec and the United States. The union is also leading a legal challenge against a labour law exclusion that prevents agricultural workers in Ontario from unionizing.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
The headline should read: "The price of a gram of weed is about to go up by a buck or two - " or "Ontario taxpayers to be on the hook for hundreds of millions in losses at Ontario Cannabis". Unions will eliminate any hope of ever turning a profit in retail cannabis.
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
The headline should read: "The price of a gram of weed is about to go up by a buck or two - " or "Ontario taxpayers to be on the hook for hundreds of millions in losses at Ontario Cannabis". Unions will eliminate any hope of ever turning a profit in retail cannabis.
Union busting leads to low paying jobs for the average Joe
See America
 

gb123

Well-Known Member
Odd the one I was in for forty years worked hard for me , my family and" all "my fellow union members
Thats awesome but it leads to you losing out to people who will do things cheaper..unions cost company's MORE...I know.
Been n the trades my entire life.
Guess it depends on what union but they do lose out to lower paying contracts..people who will do the same work cheaper! more and more now a day as well..
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
Thats awesome but it leads to you losing out to people who will do things cheaper..unions cost company's MORE...I know.
Been n the trades my entire life.
Guess it depends on what union but they do lose out to lower paying contracts..people who will do the same work cheaper! more and more now a day as well..
LOL We are at full employment
Go ahead and hire a nonunion electrician and save a couple bucks
While you are at it create a bunch of poverty level jobs and exclaim you are a job creator
 

The Hippy

Well-Known Member
Another box tick .....check....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

couple extra....hahahahahahahah
 

gb123

Well-Known Member
LOL We are at full employment
Go ahead and hire a nonunion electrician and save a couple bucks
While you are at it create a bunch of poverty level jobs and exclaim you are a job creator
lol yer not gettin it dude man
I AM an Electrician of 35 plus years and KNOW ALL TO WELL what you say is crap up this way ..and for any UNION in ANY TRADE
slack ass mother fuckers expecting large pay,,doin nothing...unions don't work anymore

PPPHHHTTT

HAve at it and lose out large as they all do sooner than later!

watch the elevator trades lol fall To the way side faster than fast..so on and so forth
Good luck filling those union jobs
go ask O Conner electric who employs 300 licensed electrician how their CONTACTS are this year. :P

BWAHAHAHA none existent and they feed off unions!! :)

might give ya SOME IDEA as to how it is..
cheers union ears! Good luck YOU:LL NEED IT
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Union busting leads to low paying jobs for the average Joe
See America
I did okay and I've never belonged to a union. You won't find a better gig than the one I have now through any union. I can't grasp the benefit of paying to give up my right to negotiate my own wage and working conditions. Unions had their time and purpose...and that era has passed. Look at the postie strike last Christmas...the union got them absolutely nothing. If I had an issue with my wage or working conditions, I could walk into the boss's office and deal with it without parading around with a sign looking like a tool. Unions lead to a higher cost of living for the average Joe. The "average joe" isn't making more or less money than he would otherwise because you work for a union - but he's paying more for goods and services that are produced by unions.
I know union guys get all worked up defending unions, and I am just as strong on my views against.
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
In Texas I met a Master Carpenter he works in a right to work state...which means negotiate your own contract he was making the same amount for 15 years ...$15 an hour
I met another guy in North Carolina , in the skilled trades for 10 years and was making $12.50 an hour
Neither guy had insurance or benefits
Neither of these places are particularly economical to live in so saying you don't need a union means you will settle for whatever the 1% let you
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
lol yer not gettin it dude man
I AM an Electrician of 35 plus years and KNOW ALL TO WELL what you say is crap up this way ..and for any UNION in ANY TRADE
slack ass mother fuckers expecting large pay,,doin nothing...unions don't work anymore

PPPHHHTTT

HAve at it and lose out large as they all do sooner than later!

watch the elevator trades lol fall To the way side faster than fast..so on and so forth
Good luck filling those union jobs
go ask O Conner electric who employs 300 licensed electrician how their CONTACTS are this year. :P

BWAHAHAHA none existent and they feed off unions!! :)

might give ya SOME IDEA as to how it is..
cheers union ears! Good luck YOU:LL NEED IT
I'm needing some lessons on Canadian LOL
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
I did okay and I've never belonged to a union. You won't find a better gig than the one I have now through any union. I can't grasp the benefit of paying to give up my right to negotiate my own wage and working conditions. Unions had their time and purpose...and that era has passed. Look at the postie strike last Christmas...the union got them absolutely nothing. If I had an issue with my wage or working conditions, I could walk into the boss's office and deal with it without parading around with a sign looking like a tool. Unions lead to a higher cost of living for the average Joe. The "average joe" isn't making more or less money than he would otherwise because you work for a union - but he's paying more for goods and services that are produced by unions.
I know union guys get all worked up defending unions, and I am just as strong on my views against.
Ask any Janitor in a Union shop , how he would do managing his own CONtract !
 

gb123

Well-Known Member
In Texas I met a Master Carpenter he works in a right to work state...which means negotiate your own contract he was making the same amount for 15 years ...$15 an hour
I met another guy in North Carolina , in the skilled trades for 10 years and was making $12.50 an hour
Neither guy had insurance or benefits
Neither of these places are particularly economical to live in so saying you don't need a union means you will settle for whatever the 1% let you
I work for me..no body else
specially a UNION which will fuck you in he end.. Union dues lmao sure they-re worth something ...... not
same goes with your job..lay offs.... while they hire more apprentices..
laws are changing now....which is fucking union businesses
to many chiefs not enough Indians..
unions lol ya they work for the people? not any more they sure dont!

its not you.
.it unions that Ive seen fuck way to many people over the years
seen people fuck unions as well!
 
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VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Ask any Janitor in a Union shop , how he would do managing his own CONtract !
Why? Do you think they're too dumb to negotiate? You don't need unions - my in-laws owned a janitorial business for years and did very well and a couple of their employees were with them for over 12 years - no union dues, no strikes and no lockouts.
My contract pays me a salary year-round to live and work on a Gulf Island, but from Sept. to May I'm only required to work between 8-24 hours/wk. I get a house on 5 acres, a truck and an expense account. It's not huge money, but I live comfortable. There's no one to report to, no time clock to punch and no union dues to pay. I don't care how much you are paid to do a union job, there is a lot more to life than money and I haven't seen a unionized job that would offer me the lifestyle and freedom that this one does.
I could argue for days against unions (and I have!), but I will leave it at that. Some people swear that unions are better than non-union, just like some prefer city life to living in the sticks. To each their own - I'll go to my grave never having paid union dues and have no regrets. :bigjoint:
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
"Translation no experience but I go with my gut" and Bro science is a great method of growing :wall:
Huh? You have as much experience at my way of life as I do with yours, yet you want to convince me that your way is better? Yours is the same fucking translation, but lacking the understanding that one size doesn't fit everyone.. :wall: I haven't bashed unions (in this thread), I said "to each their own"...but you want to call non-union workers out for not joining your cult?
I simply said unions are not for me and I did better without dealing with them - I never tried to convince you that my way was better for everyone...why are you union guys always trying to recruit? If unions were that great, there would be a backlog of people wanting to join.
I have a water system to get ready, 2 offices and a cabin to paint and a couple of fallen trees to buck up and move that I could be doing today - but it's sunny and +13 so I'm going fishing instead...I get paid the same. What's your union boss telling you to do today...? your life is controlled by a time clock, where I am free to set my own hours, decide what job I want to do or go fishing or tend to my garden instead. You pay the union execs to go fishing while you work.
"Going with my gut" seems infinitely smarter than your method.
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
Huh? You have as much experience at my way of life as I do with yours, yet you want to convince me that your way is better? Yours is the same fucking translation, but lacking the understanding that one size doesn't fit everyone.. :wall: I haven't bashed unions (in this thread), I said "to each their own"...but you want to call non-union workers out for not joining your cult?
I simply said unions are not for me and I did better without dealing with them - I never tried to convince you that my way was better for everyone...why are you union guys always trying to recruit? If unions were that great, there would be a backlog of people wanting to join.
I have a water system to get ready, 2 offices and a cabin to paint and a couple of fallen trees to buck up and move that I could be doing today - but it's sunny and +13 so I'm going fishing instead...I get paid the same. What's your union boss telling you to do today...? your life is controlled by a time clock, where I am free to set my own hours, decide what job I want to do or go fishing or tend to my garden instead. You pay the union execs to go fishing while you work.
"Going with my gut" seems infinitely smarter than your method.
Since I'm comfortably retired , My union boss and I may go fishing together
...He got me enough money thru collective bargaining to be able to afford to retire early
I hope your bargaining skills do the same for you
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Since I'm comfortably retired , My union boss and I may go fishing together
...He got me enough money thru collective bargaining to be able to afford to retire early
I hope your bargaining skills do the same for you
Don't you spend your retirement days worrying about me - I'm doing okay. Rather spend your fishing time thinking about how you paid for your union boss' retirement with your sweat.
You realize millions of Canadians live well and retire early without joining a union, right? You spent a career taking orders from the man every single day to get a reward of 'early retirement'. I don't like being told what to do - ever or by anyone - so I spent my working life either self-employed or in positions like this where I have freedom. I have acquired a unique set of skills and training that puts me in demand for jobs such as this. Being a number for a company and a union and punching a time clock may have been all you wanted out of life, but I'd rather be dead than have to answer to anyone, so I chose a different path. We all end up in the same place at the end...it's the quality of the journey that matters.
 
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