Workers at the Hudson's Bay in Kamloops picket the entrance to the store inside Aberdeen Mall. (Photo via United Steelworkers Local 1-417)
Workers at the Hudson’s Bay store at Aberdeen Mall in Kamloops have begun job action and left the store after their union and the company could not reach a wage agreement.
United Steelworkers union Local 1-417, which represents the workers, says talks have been going since July and have yet to be successful.
It says it met with Hudson’s Bay and a mediator at the B.C. Labour Relations Board on Tuesday, but could not reach an agreement, adding that the company didn’t budge on its proposal of a one-per-cent wage increase for each contract year.
The union says it issued a 72-hour strike notice to the company on Wednesday and the job action officially began at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
“Not only has Hudson’s Bay refused to pay a reasonable wage increase, it also continues to have concessionary items it wants to carve out of our 30-year-old collective agreement,” said Sean Ball, USW staff representative.
Workers at the Hudson’s Bay in #Kamloops are on strike as of today, Dec. 10.
There will be picket lines inside @AberdeenMall. pic.twitter.com/9PZaPXUosX
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) December 10, 2023
Jordan Lawrence, USW Local 1-417 financial secretary, said the job action comes at the busiest holiday time for the business and aims to “send a message loud and clear that this is unacceptable.”
“Our members will not put up with these bullying tactics from the company any longer,” Lawrence said in a news release. “We encourage customers to shop at the mall but respectfully ask that they honour our legal picket line and find their gifts elsewhere.”
“Our members have had enough, and during the busiest holiday time for Hudson’s Bay, it is time to send a message loud and clear that this is unacceptable.
“We understand the holiday season is a busy time and we want to assure shoppers and other tenants at Aberdeen Mall that we will not be outside the main mall entrances and will only have our picket lines set up in front of the Hudson’s Bay entrances.
The picket lines will only be set up outside the Hudson’s Bay entrances at the mall and not at the main mall entrances, Lawrence added, noting that move is comes during the busy holiday shopping season.
Speaking on NL Mornings, Acumen Law’s Kyla Lee says the decision to go on strike will raise a few eyebrows.
“The decision to walk off the job right now at the beginning of December in what is probably the busiest retail time for the Hudson’s Bay Company seems to be quite calculated and deliberate to sort of put the most pressure on the employer to come to the table and meet the union’s demand,” Lee said.
But at the same time she questioned whether or not the strike vote will push the company to close the store in Kamloops.
“Traditional retail mall models have consistently been struggling especially now with inflation and people not having a lot of disposable income but you have to wonder whether this is the right move or whether this may push the employer to a position where they are forced to close,” Lee added.
Employees of the Hudson’s Bay store in Kamloops have been unionized since 1993. Their only labour dispute came during negotiations over the very first collective agreement three decades ago, a dispute that lasted nine months.
Hudson’s Bay says in a statement that it appreciates the hard work of its store associates and remains committed to the bargaining process and reaching a resolution.
“We regret the disruption in our Kamloops store and hope to return to serving our customers as soon as possible,” Hudson’s Bay said in its statement.
– With files from The Canadian Press and Abby Zieverink
