UFCW solidarity for strikers at Molson Coors

Click on the image above to see the photo gallery.

Toronto – February 9, 2017 – UFCW Canada activists joined more than 400 allies for a picket line rally at the Molson Brewery in Toronto, where members of CUBGW 325 (Canadian Union of Brewery and General Workers/NUPGE) were forced out on strike after the company’s refusal to bargain a fair contract.

The members went on strike January 12, after the employer presented an offer to gut the collective agreement with an attack on retirement security, health and welfare benefits, and working conditions.

“We are fighting for a fair contract,” CUBGW 325 President Rob Folk told the activists who had gathered outside the main gates of the brewery, “but the company isn’t interested. What they want is to bust the union, and the order is coming straight from the USA.” Molson Coors was formed by the merger of Molson and Coors in 2005.

“It is all about corporate greed,” said Brother Folk. “They want cutbacks, and at the same time, the pay of the CEO of Molson Coors is equal to the combined pay of more than half the members who work here.” More than 300 members of CUBGW 325 work at the massive brewery.

In support of the strike, CUBGW 325 members are also asking the public not to buy Molson Coors products that are imported from the USA and take away jobs from Canadian brewery workers. These brands include Coors Banquet (produced at non-union plants), Miller Lite, and Miller Genuine Draft. 

For more on the strike, visit http://www.facebook.com/CUBGW/.