We need wages that allow us to live here but Cascadia doesn’t seem to agree.

Living in Victoria is expensive! Every worker in our city needs fair wages and respect. We need reasonable and reliable scheduled raises that keep up with the increasing cost of living.

Cascadia liquor store workers from three locations came together to form a Union because we needed improvements and fairness. Workers from the Quadra Store applied for certification on July 24, 2023; workers from the Eagle Creek Store applied on October 15, 2023; and workers from the Colwood Store on November 6, 2023.

There are approx. 60 workers in our Union, 45 of whom are regularly scheduled. Most of us make between $18-19 per hour. The lower end of that is not far from the June 1st minimum wage.

Cascadia workers simply want increases that will bring us level with workers in other unionized private liquor store chains in BC: a $19.50 probationary rate, a $20 starting rate, and $21 after a year of service. A little more with additional seniority.

But Cascadia’s proposal would provide a base wage of only $18.85 for most workers. On top of that you would have to work over 2600 hours to qualify for the next raise (which would still be under $20). With the number of shifts we get, that could take 2 to 3 years!

We believe Cascadia should invest in its workers – not in fighting us.

They spent money on multiple lawyers trying to stop us from bargaining as one group. They hired an HR consultant to conduct bargaining who took very aggressive positions resulting in the situation we are in now. The company’s decision-makers have not come to bargain with us – only low-level management who are not authorized to make decisions have come to the table. They have shown a willingness to spend money to fight our efforts for a fair contract – but are not to provide us with fair wages.

This is our first collective agreement, and in some respects, Cascadia seems intent on seeing us go backwards.

For example, they want to extend the probation period from 3 to 5 months. We hope Cascadia agrees that good jobs with fairness and dignified pay are important in our community!

We enjoy serving the clients in our community, but we need to earn fair wages to continue doing so. We believe Victoria agrees.