UFCW 1006A members at Baxtrom’s YIG need your support

Cornwall, Ont. – January 21, 2019 –  Striking UFCW Canada Local 1006A members at Baxtrom’s Your Independent Grocer (YIG) in Cornwall, Ontario are asking for your support as they continue to fight for a fair future and dignity at work.

The mothers, fathers, grandparents, and students who work at Baxtrom’s YIG love the work they do and are proud to serve their community. But they were forced out on strike on November 23 because the company’s proposal will hurt members and their families. So the workers have taken a stand, and are asking for a fair deal with a living wage increase.

Loblaw, which owns Your Independent Grocer, is trying to intimidate workers in smaller communities like Cornwall because they think they can get away with it. But the Baxtrom’s YIG members have decided to stand up for decent work and good jobs in the community.

“We are not asking for rainbows or unicorns from this giant company,” says UFCW 1006A member Joey Jodoin. “We are just asking to be treated fairly like all the other Independents across Eastern Ontario. We want fair pay and sick days,” he adds.

“We love our jobs. We love the customers. Everyone is out here fighting for fairness. We need our neighbours, our sisters, and our brothers to help us get a fair deal,” says Baxtrom’s YIG worker Valerie Rouleau.

“Thank you, Cornwall, for your support. We have a lot of people stopping by, dropping off food and coffee. It doesn’t matter if it’s snow or rain. We are going to be out here until we get a fair deal,” says Crystal Bicknell, an employee at Baxtrom’s YIG.

Workers at Baxtrom’s YIG look forward to serving Cornwall again once this dispute is resolved. In the meantime, they are asking members of the community, as well as UFCW Canada activists and allies, to support their fight for fairness by:

• Shopping elsewhere until a fair deal is reached
• Dropping by the picket line to say “hello”
• Leaving a message of support for members on Facebook

To learn more about the Baxtrom’s YIG workers’ campaign for fairness, click here.

UFCW Canada Local 1006A represents 36,000 members in a wide range of sectors across Ontario, including the grocery retail, food processing, hospitality, laundry, warehousing, transportation, and eye care industries. To learn more about UFCW 1006A, visit their website.