Members at Crown Royal distillery hit the picket line – UFCW 832

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Links Workers at Crown Royal's 'whisky of the year' distillery go on strike CTV News - March 5, 2016 Crown Royal workers strike after failed negotiations with employer CBC News - March 5, 2016 Crown Royal workers go on strike Global News - March 5, 2016

Gimli, Man. – March 7, 2016 – UFCW Canada Local 832 members working at the Diageo distillery in Gimli have gone on strike after the membership overwhelmingly rejected the company’s final offer. The members hit the picket line on March 5, after 98 percent of members at the plant voted down the company’s offer the day before.

In February, members voted 100 percent to give the bargaining committee a strike mandate if a fair deal could not be reached. The strike mandate helped move bargaining during the last round of talks but both sides could not reach an agreement.

The plant in Gimli produces Crown Royal whiskies, including Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, which was recently ranked as the world’s best whisky by the 2016 Whisky Bible.

“Our members go to work every day with the mindset that they are making the world’s greatest whisky. The membership believes that if the company put the same effort into this round of bargaining we would not be on strike,” stated UFCW Canada Local 832 President Jeff Traeger.

Wage increases, vacation time, and health and welfare benefits remain sticking points for getting a deal done.