Victoria, B.C. – August 8, 2020 – UFCW Local 1518 members working at Lifestyle Markets have ratified their first collective agreement, achieving hazard pay, new benefits, and more. 

The ratification vote comes on the heels of staff spending months organizing, negotiating, and taking bold action to build worker power at the store. The Lifestyle Markets employees voted to join UFCW 1518 in February 2020, becoming the first grocery store to unionize in Victoria in decades. Shortly after, COVID-19 struck while the Local Union was in the process of negotiating the workers’ first collective agreement.

While many grocery workers across Canada received pandemic pay in recognition of the essential work they were performing, workers at Lifestyle received no such compensation. The employees and community members fought back, putting considerable pressure on Lifestyle Markets to fairly compensate the workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Now that a union contract is in place, employees at the store will receive much-deserved hazard pay.

Other highlights of the new collective agreement include:

• A first-ever benefits package including health, extended care, prescription drug coverage, and dental benefits;
• Paid sick days so that no one has to choose between their health and their livelihood;
• Enhanced paid vacation, a retroactive bonus, and a holiday bonus;
• Up to a 30 percent wage increase over the life of the contract;
• Harassment and bullying protections;
• 40 percent of positions must be full-time;
• Third-party education and training; and
• A 20 percent store discount.

To read more about the new union contract at Lifestyle Markets, click here.

UFCW Canada Local 1518 represents 22,000 members working in the community health, retail, industrial, and professional sectors across British Columbia. To learn more about UFCW 1518 and its outstanding work, visit the Local Union’s website.

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