Last week, Local 401 of the United Food & Commercial Workers posted to their social media account about some work they had done for one of their members.
This worker was employed as a pharmacy clerk at the Superstore in Red Deer. According to Local 401, the employer had been scheduling her for fewer hours than she was entitled to.
Because she had been receiving reduced hours for nearly all of 2023, her seniority and rights to future hours were threatened, since they are based on hours worked.
Colleen Ewen, a walking steward for Local 401 at this location, and Charmaine St. Germain, a union labour relations officer with UFCW, heard about the lost hours and began fighting for her.
Ewen and St. Germain, through what Local 401 called “a lot of dedication and hard work”, were able to secure a payout for this worker for the violation of her rights and the work hours she lost.
According to the social media post, the worker received nearly $2,800.
Local 401 said that not only did it fix an injustice that this worker faced, but “it also sends a message to other supervisors and managers that messing with the schedules will not be tolerated.”
