The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A marathon bargaining session has averted what appeared to be an almost certain strike at Extra Foods outlets in Flin Flon and across Manitoba. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 reached a tentative agreement Saturday morning on a new contract with Westfair Foods after 24 straight hours of talks. "It was a very tough negotiation, and up until four in the morning on Saturday, we thought we were going on strike," said union president Robert Ziegler from Winnipeg. Ziegler said the company saw that the union "wasn't prepared to give in, and so they improved their offer and that's what made us accept it." Neither the union nor Westfair Foods, based in Calgary, is at liberty to divulge any details of the contract until the employees ratify it. Once that happens, the deal will be retroactive to April 4. See 'Deal' P.# Con't from P.# "The entire negotiating committee is unanimously recommending that the membership accept it," said Ziegler. The proposed deal applies to the approximately 3,100 Extra Foods, Great Canadian Superstore, and Wholesale Club employees across Manitoba. The tentative agreement means membership meetings that had been scheduled for last night have been postponed until April 18. Westfair Foods spokesperson Lori Stene said the company is obviously pleased the lengthy talks have concluded. "It was a difficult negotiation, but both parties were determined to reach an agreement," she said. "They went for 24 hours straight in negotiating, so that certainly proves they were determined to reach an agreement." Stene said a strike would not have forced the temporary closure of any of the company's locations, as it had successfully advertised for replacement workers. "We were committed to continue to serve our customers," she said. Union membership had already voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action if they felt it was necessary. They were prepared to hit the picket line starting today. According to the union, some of outstanding issues in the negotiations had included wage increases, better scheduling and guarantee of hours, benefit improvements, and job security. The new Extra Foods store in Flin Flon opened last month, creating some 50 new jobs.
