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If you have not been following the strike by retail Co-op workers throughout Saskatchewan, you should be.

The struggle between striking workers, their union (UFCW Local 1400), and the demand for a two-tier wage structure by Co-op management explains a great deal about the foundations of our politics and economy here in Saskatchewan these days.

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After two years without a contract, members of the UFCW Local 1400 went on legal strike against their employer, Saskatoon Co-op. Saskatoon Co-op is the retailer for Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL), a massive company that reported $1 billion in profit for 2018.

At the centre of the bargaining impasse has been the union’s refusal to accept a two-tier wage agreement. The wage system proposed by management would cap the maximum hourly earnings for new hires, effectively paying future workers less than existing ones. Co-op management proposed a sliding wage scale of inequity to the union, paying new hires on average $2.64/hour less than existing employees, with the highest gap being $4.36/hour while clerks and cashiers would see a wage discrepancy of $3.57/hour.