Sobeys, Prince Albert

Western Grocers - Saskatoon

Food Sector Updates

Grievance Reports

Fall/Winter 2007

Superstores - A number of members at a Regina store will be receiving settlements of up to $250 each due to the resolve of grievances that were filed regarding not being paid proper over-time pay, and owed over-time pay due to not receiving a minimum of ten hours between shifts during the weeks with the Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day 2007 Statutory Holidays. The total settlement amount for these members was just shy of $2,500.

Two members who had filed grievances after receiving unjust reprimands for various reasons, had them removed from their files as a result of union settlements. Two members who received unjust suspensions had their issues resolved with the discipline removed from their files with full pay; one member had a suspension reduced to a reprimand which will be removed from the file after a year; and another member had a three day suspension reduced to a one day suspension with seven hours of pay. Another member received the owed lost pay as a result of a grievance settlement after the member showed up to work their shift and was sent home instead.

Please remember to pay close attention to your pay stubs in the pay period following Statutory Holidays to ensure that you receive all owed monies.

Extra Foods - Three members had grievances resolved where the issue involved junior employees receiving more hours, resulting in approximately $55 of pay to these more senior members. A grievance was resolved for a senior member after a junior was called in for a four-hour shift, and another member received two hours pay when their guarantee of hours was not scheduled correctly.

Real Canadian Wholesale Club - An unjust reprimand was removed from a member’s file as a result of a grievance settlement.

Western Grocers - At the Yorkton location, a member who had filed a grievance after receiving an unjust written reprimand had the discipline removed from their file, and a member who had been unjustly suspended for four days had the suspension reduced to one day as a result of another grievance settlement.

The Saskatoon location grievance committee has been very busy over the last number of months resolving grievances for their membership. Some highlights of these recent settlements include:

Summer 2007

Superstore – A grievance was filed on behalf of all members at a Regina store who were affected after the company failed to pay overtime correctly during the Christmas holiday week. The settlement saw 15 of the local’s members receive owed pay. In total, over $1,100 was paid out to resolve the issue.

After a member was denied accommodation in the workplace during a one week period, a grievance settlement was reached where the member received $440 in compensation.

RCWC – After filing a grievance, a full-time member who had not been paid weekly indemnity benefits was reimbursed over $300 for the discrepancy.

A member who suffered an injury and subsequently was not paid weekly indemnity or accommodated back into the workplace had the grievance resolved with a settlement, which included the receipt of the weekly indemnity benefits and full back pay.

Sobeys – A grievance was resolved, which had been filed on behalf of two members, totalling over $220, after junior employees were unjustly scheduled more hours.

Western Grocers – A member who had a number of grievances regarding productivity outstanding for quite some time received a settlement recently that included the removal of all of the discipline involved (including suspensions) and approximately $375 in compensation to resolve the issues.

Another member (who is no longer with the company) with similar grievances filed also received a settlement of over $200 in compensation. A third member who had received an unjust suspension, again regarding productivity, also received a settlement where the discipline was removed from the member’s file.

Two members who had received unjust suspensions had their grievances resolved with the company agreeing to remove the discipline from the files in both cases; one member received approximately $170, as well.

A number of grievances were resolved which involved ten members who lost overtime opportunities due to the management performing Bargaining Unit work. They were awarded over $550 compensation (ranging from one to seven hours each) for their lost opportunities.

Spring 2007

Sobeys, Prince Albert - Since the ratification of their First Collective Agreement in November, this unit has been very busy! Shop Stewards have been elected, received training, and have been working hard to ensure the provisions of their new Collective Agreement are being followed. Some of the items that have been dealt with to date are issues surrounding scheduling, management of the vacation schedule, rates of pay, and availabilities. Fortunately, most issues have been resolved by the employer in the first stages and there are currently no outstanding grievances.

A membership meeting was held on March 29, 2007, and the new employee Occupational Health and Safety Committee members were elected by the membership. The union has discussed the issue of training for these new members with the employer and has received confirmation that they will be receiving training in the very near future.

Extra Foods, Rural - A member with over twenty years of experience working for this employer and no previous discipline in their file had been accused of insubordination while engaging in a work related discussion and was subsequently suspended for two weeks. The member recently had their grievance resolved by the union with the unjust suspension being reduced to three days and 37 hours of pay returned to the member.

Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Regina - A full-time member at this unit, who had applied for Weekly Indemnity and was denied, filed a grievance on the issue. The union recently resolved this issue with the member receiving just over three weeks of entitled pay.

Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Saskatoon - Congratulations to all of the Shop Stewards at this location that have recently completed their Level I training! This group has been working very hard at educating their co-workers on the benefits of union representation and ensuring the provisions of the Collective Agreement are being followed. There are currently no outstanding grievances at this unit.

Superstore, Saskatoon - A member received a grievance settlement of over $800 representing premium pay that had not been paid over a period of time.

Western Grocers, Saskatoon - A member recently received a settlement of over $500 after the union committee resolved two grievances that had been filed earlier this year regarding a junior employee receiving overtime that the member was entitled to.

Winter 2006/2007

All Superstore, RCWC and Extra Foods Members Please Note – Be sure to watch the schedules. In a week with a stat holiday, if you are available anytime, the minimum you can be scheduled is 14 hours. The union recently won an arbitration award confirming this issue. If you find a discrepancy, please ask your supervisor or manager to correct the schedule. If it is not corrected, call your Representative to file a grievance.

Safeway, Moose Jaw – Two members who were being paid the wrong rates of pay had their issue resolved with back pay after a grievance was filed. The issue had been referred to arbitration, but the resolve was reached prior to arbitration being held. The two members are now receiving their correct rates of pay and received $6,270 in total to compensate them for the wage rate errors.

Western Grocers – Although there have been no grievance meetings with this employer since November, there were a number of grievance resolves since the last report.

A missed call-in and two scheduling issues resulted in the company paying over $360 to a member. Other scheduling and call-in issues resulted in twelve hours of pay awarded to members and two instances of the employer allotting overtime to junior employees were also resolved with pay.

Grievance settlements by the union committee resulted in two suspensions being removed from members’ files, with one member receiving eight hours of pay; two members had suspensions reduced to reprimands, one of which received three hours of pay, and two members had reprimands removed from their files. A wrongful suspension regarding productivity was also resolved resulting in $250 in pay.

There were ten resolves regarding Bargaining Unit Work instances that resulted in 38 ¾ hours of regular pay and 57 hours of overtime pay awarded to members who should have received the hours of work.

In the last number of months, there have been grievances filed for five workers who have been wrongfully terminated. All of these grievances are at various stages in the grievance procedure, the earlier ones have already been sent to expedited arbitration and the hearing has started for another.

Shortages in pay are an ongoing issue in this workplace; a number of grievances on this matter have already been filed this year so be sure to check your pay stub for any missed hours.

Superstores – Two resolves were made regarding dignity and respect issues for members and one instance of a supervisor harassing a member was also resolved.

Two suspensions were removed from members’ files, one with four hours of pay, and a termination issue was resolved and changed into a leave of absence with the position open for the worker upon their return.

Many scheduling issues were resolved as well. In instances where junior workers received hours that senior workers were entitled to and other scheduling and call-in issues, 58 hours of pay were awarded to the affected members.

A member who was being paid at the wrong rate of pay received a payment of $75 and an issue where a member was not being paid Weekly Indemnity was resolved after the matter was referred to mediation. The member was paid all monies owed.

Extra Foods – There have been a number of settlements for members in the rural stores, many regarding scheduling issues where vacation schedule language was not being followed, where scheduling was not being properly done or not all schedules were being posted were resolved. A missed call-in was paid to a member and an issue regarding shift extensions was also resolved.

A matter that had resulted in a wrongful suspension was resolved after the grievance was sent to mediation. The member’s discipline was removed from their file.

A member who had all sick benefits unjustly removed by the company two years ago recently had all benefits reinstated and was paid for all sick days that had been taken without pay during that time. Just before Christmas, the grievance settlement cheque was received from the company of $2,800.

In the urban Extra Foods stores, a member received statutory holiday pay that was owed to them as a result of filing a grievance. A member had a reprimand removed from their file and in a matter where a member was suspended pending investigation, the suspension was removed from the file with pay.

Real Canadian Wholesale Club – After grievances were filed, there has been an issue regarding dignity and respect resolved for a member of this unit and also a resolve agreement on a scheduling issue.

Fall 2006

Extra Foods – There have been a number of scheduling grievances that have been resolved recently. Some of these involve issues where our members have been scheduled outside of their availability, where junior employees have been scheduled more hours than senior employees, where the schedule has not been posted in a timely manner, where the master schedule hasn’t been posted, and one matter dating back to 2003 where the minimum shift guarantees were not met. In all cases, the problems have been resolved and payment to our members has been made, where applicable.

A grievance was referred to mediation involving a reprimand that was issued by the company with accusations which violated the member’s dignity and respect. The settlement involved the original reprimand being removed, reworded and reissued to the member stating only the facts.

Other resolved matters included bereavement pay, sick pay and the posting of finalized vacation schedules.

Western Grocers – Your Grievance Committee has resolved a number of grievances in meetings over the past few months. Some of the resolved issues include problems involving overtime, such as the junior employee being asked to work the overtime, or members not being called to work overtime, but the majority were over payroll errors where the overtime was either not paid or was paid as straight time. In almost all instances that were resolved regarding the Supervisors doing Bargaining Unit member’s work, the members were paid for the missed opportunities.

Grievance resolves for members at this unit also included unjust reprimands removed from their files regarding a variety of issues, denied department transfers granted, payroll errors fixed, entitled sick pay paid, and scheduling errors and a number of other issues resolved. The resolves for members of this unit over the past few months returned approximately $4,000 to them.

Superstores – Matters resolved for these units over the past number of months included problems involving scheduling where junior employees were offered hours that the senior employees were available for, and where members were being scheduled outside of their availability. Other resolved matters involved unjust discipline reduced or removed from members’ files and a matter where a steward was denied access to further investigate a matter. There is now an understanding in place that the employer will endeavour to have mutual communication with our stewards in an attempt to resolve matters where possible.

Summer 2006

Superstores - A member who had been given a reprimand for alleged poor work performance filed a grievance that was resolved with the discipline being removed from their file. Three suspension issues were resolved: one with the payment of approximately $335, one reduced to a one day with twelve hours of pay, and one with the removal of the suspension from their file.

Various scheduling and pay issues have been resolved; members who had been shorted pay or instances where junior employees received the hours senior employees were entitled to saw the appropriate amounts paid out to them, and various grievances were resolved with pay for instances where overtime pay was not paid correctly in a stat week.

A member who had taken a Sunday work issue up with his supervisor (who responded to this problem with inappropriate comments) then filed a grievance over the issue. The member will now be receiving the proper two consecutive days of rest and an apology for the comments that were made.

Extra Foods - A member had a reprimand that was given unjustly removed from their file and a call-in issue was resolved with pay.

Another member who received a reprimand for something that happened on a day that the member was not working on has had that discipline removed from their file.

Real Canadian Wholesale Club - A member who allegedly failed to follow his supervisor’s directions filed a grievance after receiving a one day suspension. This has been reduced to a written reprimand and one day of pay has been returned to the member.

Western Grocers - A member who had received an unjust reprimand saw that discipline removed from their file; another member had an unjust one day suspension removed from their file. And a member who had filed a grievance over an accommodation issue saw that problem resolved as well.

Various problems regarding scheduling and shorted pay have been resolved. A member who had been shorted sick pay was paid out appropriately, another member who was not scheduled correctly was paid out $250 in compensation for the lost hours, eight hours of owed overtime pay was paid, and three instances of shorted pay were corrected with the members receiving the pay owed plus the 10% penalty. In one instance, the supervisors involved have been warned that while members have the option to go home early, they do not have to.

Seven members have been paid out for grievances they filed after management performed Bargaining Unit Work, with just over $500 being retuned to these members.

Productivity issues continue to be at the forefront in grievance meetings with this employer with five reprimands and six suspensions being removed from members’ files over this issue.

Safeway - A member who lost hours when a junior employee was called in to work a shift has been paid $70 in compensation.

April 2006

Extra Foods Urban - Two members who were not paid relief pay received all outstanding monies owed to them; one of those members received pay that they had been shorted as well.

A member who was unjustly denied an operator position (the position was awarded initially to a junior employee) received the position and applicable back pay.

Various reprimands were reduced or removed from members’ files and numerous scheduling irregularities regarding guarantee of hours and call-ins were also resolved.

Extra Foods Rural - Numerous instances regarding dignity and respect were resolved for members, with the company assuring that the offending managers would be spoken to about the incidents. In one instance that involved reprimands as well (some being given without proper union representation in the meeting), a resolution was found prior to the issue being heard in arbitration. In another instance, the employer agreed to also reduce a suspension that had been issued to find a resolve to the matter.

Various unjustly issued reprimands and suspensions were removed or reduced for the affected members.

A number of grievances have been resolved over the past while regarding missed call-ins and improper scheduling. A member who came in for a call-in and then had their pay for that day shorted saw their grievance resolved; another member who did not received their guarantee of hours received the pay for missed hours, and a further member who was improperly scheduled received a lump sum payment from the company to compensate for lost hours.

In general, there has been increasing communication between all parties, with grievances being addressed relatively quickly.

Superstores - A member who was denied sick pay and was unjustly requested to bring a sick note received both the amount charged for the doctor’s note and all outstanding sick benefits paid.

Three members who had been harassed by company management had these issues resolved with the reassurance that the company would discuss the issues with the offending managers so that the matter would not happen again. One supervisor subsequently left the company.

Various reprimands and suspensions were reduced to resolve a number of issues, with one member being paid approximately $125. In another situation, a member received a lump some payment of $1,000 to resolve an unjust termination where the member no longer wished to return to that work environment.

Two instances of junior employees being scheduled more hours than senior employees were resolved, as was an issue of overtime being paid incorrectly and a member who was not paid correct bereavement pay also had their matter resolved; over $230 was returned to these members.

Two issues regarding vacation were resolved, one involving pay, the other the scheduling of vacation time.

After members in a small department were not paid for a mandatory attendance meeting, a grievance was filed and all the affected members received the pay they were entitled to, approximately $150.

Grievances continue to be heard and often resolved quite quickly, with meetings proceeding on a regular basis.

Vacation Schedules - It is vacation schedule time … the completed vacation list should be posted no later than April 15, 2006. If you have any questions regarding vacation or anything else, contact the office.

RCWC - This group of members have also had numerous issues that were grieved resolved, including a variety of reprimand problems and one instance regarding a junior employee being scheduled four hours more than a senior employee.

Western Grocers - The employer and union have recently settled a number of grievances that were in the process of going to Arbitration.

The productivity area continues to be a concern and grievances have been resolved for numerous reprimands that had been issued by being removed from members’ files, suspensions being reduced, some members receiving pay, and in once instance, a member whose cumulative issues had been referred to arbitration had the matter resolved and received just over $250 in compensation prior to arbitration.

If you are called into a meeting regarding productivity please contact the union office as soon as possible. The union would like to investigate all discipline associated with productivity. There are many determining factors that may prevent a member from reaching the established rates and the company simply stating that you did not work hard or fast enough does not cut it.

Excessive congestion, faulty equipment, poor slotting, and subjective criticism of delays by supervisors are just a few of the hurdles members must overcome to meet the standards. Don’t let your rights be ignored, call the union office at 384-5787 for more information.

Four members who had filed grievances regarding improper sick pay payments that had been referred to arbitration, received a settlement amount totalling just over $2,000. The employer had counted the month of December of the previous year when calculating used sick days for the sick bonus plan. One other member had a weekly indemnity issue resolved as well, receiving an applicable percentage of five days of pay.

A harassment issue has been resolved by the union with the company agreeing to discuss the issue with the supervisor to ensure that it will not be repeated.

Sobeys, Yorkton - In a matter regarding supposed poor work performance, a reprimand that had been issued to a member was reduced.

January 2006

Extra Foods — Grievance meetings held since the last report have produced settlements by the union of a variety of unjust reprimands and suspensions being removed from our members’ files or reduced to a less severe penalty.

Various issues involving scheduling, owed overtime pay and shorted pay were also resolved resulting in approximately $165 being returned to our members.

Superstores — At grievance meetings, numerous unjust reprimands were removed from members’ files as well as unjust suspensions being reduced or removed from files. A supervisor who did not implement a company policy in a fair and equitable way, then proceeded to reprimand a member over this policy, has been spoken to by the company and the reprimand that was given has been stricken from the member’s file.

Also since the last report, a variety of call in, scheduling, sent home, and not paid for all hours worked grievances, as well as an unjust termination grievance, have been resolved by the union resulting in approximately $2,350 in settlements being paid out to members.

A further issue of a three day suspension that was scheduled for arbitration was settled the day before it was scheduled to be heard with the grievor having the suspension, and any reference related to it, removed from the member’s file and receiving three days of pay in compensation.

Western Grocers – A variety of grievances have been resolved since the last report. A number of settlements were made on bargaining unit work issues resulting in approximately $640 being paid out to members who had lost hours to this issue.

Grievance settlements regarding call ins, overtime work, scheduling and shorted relief pay resulted in another $630 being returned to the members rightfully owed it.

Arbitration Settlements

Arbitration Settlement Regarding Water Bottles at the Superstores

A Letter of Agreement has recently been appended to the arbitration settlement regarding water availability at the Superstores to resolve this matter. The agreement is as follows:

Employees who work at a cash register may elect to bring a bottle of water to their work location under the following conditions:

1. The bottle is a "President's Choice" brand;

2. The size is 500ml or smaller;

3. The bottle is stored out of public sight;

The employee is to exercise common courtesy with customers when consuming water.

All other employees will have a reasonable access to tap water throughout their shift.

The exception will be the employees in the photo/audio department who will have access to tap water in the lab.

The employer will provide disposable drinking cups at the water taps for the employees’ use.

Except as provided above, no one will be allowed to have water on the sales floor.

Employees on the sales floor will be ensured adequate and reasonable access to tap water throughout their shifts.

Please contact your shop steward or representative if you encounter problems arising from the above settlement.

Call in Procedure Arbitration Settlement for Members working at Superstore, Extra Foods and the Real Canadian Wholesale Club

A difference in interpretation between the union and Westfair Foods regarding the language of the Collective Agreement, Article 15.8 regarding the Call in Procedure has resulted in an arbitration being heard.

The employer (Westfair) originally interpreted the language to support a three step call in process where first the available anytime employees would be called in order of seniority; then the available restricted employees would be called in order of seniority; and lastly, the remaining restricted employees would be called in order of seniority.

The union interpreted the language to reflect a two step call in process where first available anytime employees would be called in order of seniority, and then the restricted employees would be called in order of seniority, regardless of their availability.

The parties received a decision from the arbitrator on December 12, 2005, where the arbitrator found the union successful and the union interpretation to be correct.

Ongoing or Other Issues

April 2006

Attention Western Grocers Members - Western Grocers members who do not wish to be contacted by the employer for overtime prior to the start of their shift, please contact the union office and ask for Norm or leave a message stating this.

Western Grocers - The issue of improper payment for hours worked continues to plague our members. With your shop steward, approach your supervisor and clarify the issue as soon as possible. Do not wait for the next payday. Make note of all the shortages for that period and request payment immediately. If the supervisor refuses, you can expect the amount owing plus a 10% bonus for the payroll error on the next payday. If you do not receive it on the next deposit, contact the union to record the error and file a grievance.

Payroll errors usually occur as a result of overtime or on statutory holiday weeks; pay particular attention to your pay slips during these times. Don’t get ripped off, you worked the time, and you are owed the pay!!

The employer is showing a complete lack of respect for the Collective Agreement and refuses to address the issue of supervisors doing Bargaining Unit work. In 2005 and to date this year, there have been 35 grievances filed on reported incidents of supervisors doing your work and getting your hours, and yet the instances of this continue. In particular, a grocery supervisor appears to be logging the most time performing Bargaining Unit work and therefore preventing your overtime to occur. This is not what the union had in mind as a way to correct payroll problems.

If you see any supervisor operating machinery, picking orders, doing cleaning or any other type of work that our members do, contact a steward and together address the issue immediately with the warehouse manager or the designate for an explanation. Under most circumstances this is a violation of the CBA and it is your right to have it addressed.

January 2006

Western Grocers - The union and employer will be holding a meeting in early January to discuss the growing amount of discipline, grievances and arbitrations in the warehouse. As of early December, 41 grievances have been referred to arbitration and an additional 125 are being considered for referral.

The major issues are discipline for productivity, non union members performing your work and a number of pay shortages or failures to pay.

Numerous calls have come in concerning payroll errors and adjustments. The employer now has personnel to manage payroll accounting. If you are shorted, you are asked to complete the form provided by your supervisor and return it to him or her. If the error was not your fault, the employer is to pay you within three working days or add 10% of the shortage to your next pay cheque. You don’t need to ask for the 10% penalty to be applied. If you don’t receive it, contact your shop steward or the union office immediately to file a grievance.