It's back to the bargaining table once again for the Moose Jaw Coop and the UFCW Local 1400; the union that represents its employees.

This past Friday the two sides met and once again the union turned down the latest offer from the Coop. According to General Manager for the Coop, Gerry Onysikevitch, the union rejected "wages higher than other competing stores" in our city and keep pushing for the removal of the second tier.

However, stating that the second tier was something the union voted in back in 2014, Onyskevitch added that he had hoped they could have found a resolution by now as union members are currently supporting competing businesses that have second and third tiers during this dispute.

“We came to an agreement on implementing second-tier tier wages during our 2014 round of bargaining, but now the Union is choosing to impact our employees, business and community years later,” said Onyskevitch in a recent release. “Our Unionized competitors in Moose Jaw have second and third-tier wage scales, dating back to as early as 1995. UFCW has chosen to take a principled stand against Co-op while continuing to support the same principle in the stores of our competitors.” 

He noted that they believe what the have offered was fair, and the pay structure that is in place remains competitive. 

“We provide a compensation package that respects our employees and their contributions to our business. The Union’s claim that this package is not fair is simply unfounded, especially considering that our wages start higher and increase faster than competitors in our own city.

We believe our community and our members have a right to know the facts about what our employees are paid, what we have offered at the bargaining table and how this compares to other UFCW unionized retails in Moose Jaw.”

Click here to see the recent release and the wage scale comparison offered by the Moose Jaw Coop. 

Stay tuned, as we'll have reaction from the UFCW Local 1400 union later.