Unless a deal is reached between now and then, unionized workers at Ontario's liquor stores will be walking picket lines on June 26.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents the LCBO workers, set the strike date on Friday morning after the Ministry of Labour issued a "no board" report.
OPSEU's bargaining team chair, Denise Davis, says the ball is now in the LCBO's court.
"There are real problems with the LCBO right now," said Davis. "But there's also real potential to make it the global leader it has the potential to be, not just in sales, but in the standard it sets for other employers by how it treats the workers who drive those sales. We've come forward at the bargaining table with a plan for a better LCBO – one that doesn't leave workers trapped in part-time positions for decades, protects jobs in communities across Ontario, and strengthens this public asset that provides essential revenue for the province. LCBO management knows they can afford to treat their workers better – after all, we're talking about a company with $2-billion in profits last year."
LCBO workers have been without a contract since March 31.
Negotiations will be held prior to the strike deadline. Union officials are hopeful a deal can be reached.
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is laying much of the blame for a lack of agreement on Premier Kathleen Wynne.
"Talk is cheap. But if Kathleen Wynne wants to take concrete action to match her lofty promises of improved working conditions for vulnerable workers, she has the power to do that – right here, and right now," said Thomas. "We all know that if the Premier picked up the phone, called LCBO CEO George Soleas, and told him to stop exploiting workers, and instead provide these folks with the decent working conditions she claims she wants for everyone, there would be a deal that day.
The LCBO says it is making contingency plans in the event of a work stoppage.