Strike at Station touristique Duchesnay – UFCW 501

Quebec – July 31, 2024 – After more than a year of fruitless negotiations, the 150 or so workers at Station touristique Duchesnay, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 501 (UFCW 501), went on strike on Saturday, July 20, 2024. This decision comes after multiple postponements by the employer concerning the presentation of the monetary mandate.

Since negotiations began in March 2023, the union members at Station touristique Duchesnay have shown exemplary patience and flexibility. They have granted the employer several additional delays to enable it to obtain the necessary funds to conclude negotiations. However, after more than a year of waiting, and despite occasional strike action in July to signal the urgency of the situation, no significant progress has been made. Worse still, the employer has announced a further postponement of the monetary mandate.

The relentless rise in the cost of living has considerably eroded the purchasing power of workers at Station touristique Duchesnay. This situation, combined with constant delays in wage negotiations, has led to growing frustration among union members. Successive postponements and the employer's apparent unwillingness to address the wage issue made an indefinite strike inevitable.

"Union members are calling on the employer to return to the bargaining table promptly with a solid monetary mandate, and to engage in serious discussions to put an end to this impasse. It is imperative to restore wage inequities and allow workers to live in dignity while continuing to offer quality services to customers," says Michel Carrier, shop steward and spokesperson for union members at Station touristique de Duchesnay.

Learn more about the strike at Station touristique in Duchesnay here.

With 19,000 union members working at more than 410 companies, UFCW Local 501 is part of the most important francophone Union in the food and commercial industries across Quebec and northern New Brunswick. The members are working in all sectors of the food and commercial industries, as well as other sectors such as service sector, food processing and manufacturing, and technical and professional jobs. To learn more about UFCW Local 501 and its outstanding work, visit the Local Union’s website.