27 Metro grocery stores in the Greater Toronto area will close starting Saturday as thousands of workers hit the picket line after voting on a preliminary deal.
Unifor, the union representing 3,700 Metro workers at 27 GTA locations, announced the results of the ratification vote on Friday evening.

This strike decision comes after years of these workers being underpaid and overworked while facing further erosion of job quality.

This follows pandemic wage cuts, at a time when the company recorded record profits and extremely high compensation for the chairman.

Lana Payne, the national union president, stated: "This comes at a time when life has simply become intolerable for many of these workers who risked their health and safety during the pandemic."

She clarified, "We presented the preliminary agreement to our members because it included significant gains, but our members are clear that it simply is not enough."

A preliminary agreement was reached on July 18, after weeks of bargaining to initially avoid a strike.

In June, members voted 100 percent in favor of the strike.

Union officials previously stated that fair wages for all workers, increased access to better benefits, safer working hours, and full-time jobs were the top three priorities before negotiations.

Unifor Local 414 President Gord Currie said in a statement on Friday, "As you know, the system will be disrupted when frontline workers cannot afford food, rent, or gas."

He added, "Frontline grocery workers at Metro deserve the utmost respect, especially after working tirelessly during the pandemic."

Workers are expected to stage a rally at each store starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Unifor stated that the affected Metro stores will include those in Toronto, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton, North York, Islington, Willowdale, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Newmarket, and Scarborough.

Metro confirmed in a statement that all 27 stores will be closed throughout the duration of the strike.

It noted that pharmacies will remain open.

Supervising grocers at these locations expressed that they are "extremely frustrated" that their workers chose to strike.

They explained that the company has been negotiating with the union over the past few weeks and reached a fair and equitable agreement that meets the needs of our employees and customers while ensuring Metro's continued competitiveness.

This settlement provided significant increases for employees over all four years of the agreement, as well as improvements in pensions and benefits for all employees, including part-time employees.