Manitoba liquor strike sours Winnipeg Wine Festival

The annual Winnipeg Wine Festival is being temporarily shelvedbecause of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries strike, organizers say.

"Based upon what is unfolding in the greater community we feel this decision is prudent,"festival manager Kathleen Mason said in an email to CBC News.

The event, in support of Special Olympics Manitoba, typically features more than 400 wines from close to a dozen countries. It was setforSept. 1623.

"As soon as we confirm the new dates, we will let you know," Mason said in her email.

Previously purchased tickets will be honoured for the new dates, she said.

A provincewide strike byabout 1,400 unionized Liquor & Lotteriesstaff, represented bythe Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, is now in its second week.

The workershave been without a contract since their last collective agreement with the Crown corporation expired in March 2022.

Limited strike action and lockouts at the retail liquor stores andthe Liquor & Lotteriesdistribution centre on King Edward Street in Winnipegbegan in Julybefore escalating into the full-blown strike on Aug. 8.

That's left most Liquor Mart locations closed for more than a week, and has put a big dent ininventory at private vendors, restaurants and other places that sell alcohol.

Liquor woes lead to layoffs

One of those places is the Home Hardware in Onanole, Man., which provides liquor forrestaurants, hotels and cottagers in Riding Mountain National Park.

Manager Brandice Hastings said the shelves continue to be bare,causing the businessto lose thousands of dollars and some staff to lose their jobs.

"It's reached a point where there's nothing left," she told CBC Manitoba'sRadio Noon on Thursday."Without a liquor order ...I don't have work."

Hastings said she's had to lay off three workers this past month. She estimates the business loses up to $60,000 each weekend since the strike started.

On Tuesday, she went to pick up booze at a Liquor Mart in Brandon, which was open for commercial customers, but she wasn't able to grab everything her business needed.

"We were straight to the point told, 'You get two cases of everything and that is it,'" Hastings said, adding that the stock probably won't last through the weekend.

It's also difficult to explain to customers why they don't have the product they're looking for, said Hastings. Some drive more than two hours to Saskatchewan to buy liquor.

"We're just truly trying to remain as positive as possible and focus on what we can do," she said.

Conciliator recommends binding arbitration

An independent conciliator has recommended binding arbitration to settle the dispute.Liquor & Lotteries said Monday it has accepted that recommendation, but MGEU says it wants to ensure the arbitration process is fair before agreeing to it.

Binding arbitration is a contractual agreement to settle disputes out of court using a neutral third party. In this case, it would be a hearing before an arbitrator who would decide the termsof the new collective agreement.

The two sides would be legally obligated toadhere to the decision, unlike the conciliation process, which is not binding.

Liquor & Lotteries and the MGEU have already tried negotiating face to faceand using a conciliator. In conciliation, the two sides speak to a neutral third-party, who acts as a liaison to relay information between them and try to resolve the matter.

Under current labour laws, parties involved in a labour dispute can apply for binding arbitration if a strike or lockout continues for 60 days.

That means both parties will be made to enter arbitration if they don't reach a deal by Sept.17, the president and CEO of Liquor & Lotteries said Wednesday.

The two sidesare heading back to the bargaining table on Friday.