BCGEU strike shuts down 60 liquor stores — what it means for your next trip

Liquor stores are the latest to be hit with picket lines and now limits are in place on what shoppers and restaurants can buy.

The B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) has ramped up its strike action, announcing that workers at 35 additional government liquor stores joined picket lines Thursday — bringing the total to 60 locations province-wide.

Union president Paul Finch said this follows Monday’s shutdown of all liquor and cannabis distribution warehouses and Tuesday’s walkout by Ministry of Transportation and Transit staff

“After three weeks of continuous strike action where government has refused to come to the table and refused to negotiate, forcing us to escalate further,” Finch told CTV News.

In a media advisory issued earlier in the day, the BCGEU said nearly a third of all government-run liquor stores are now on strike, with more than 14,900 public service workers engaged in some form of job action and 66 picket lines active province-wide.

“From the beginning of this job action, public service workers have done everything possible to focus pressure on government without disrupting the public,” Finch said.

“But government’s refusal to return to the bargaining table with a fair wage mandate has left us no choice but to escalate.”

Finance minister responds

B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said this week that there is some “back-channel work” happening behind the scenes to address the dispute. She said government is “very keen” to return to bargaining but acknowledged there is currently no date set for new talks.

Finch directly disputed that claim.

“There’s no back-channel talks going on with us as a union. I can say that unequivocally,” he said. “If there are back-channel discussions happening, it must be internal to government. I don’t think that’s very helpful.”

Shoppers and businesses feeling the pinch

The expansion of picket lines has immediate consequences for consumers.

The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch has already imposed rationing measures, limiting customers — including restaurants and bars — to just three units per product per day. That includes wine, spirits and packaged drinks, though beer and Bordeaux wine have been exempted.

The rules mean a six-pack of beer counts as one unit, just as a single bottle of wine or spirits would. Restaurants, bars, and importers warn shelves could empty quickly, with some orders no longer being processed at all.

Finch acknowledged the strike is now hitting the public directly.

“We’ve done our best to shield the public from the impact of the strike. Unfortunately, we can’t do that indefinitely,” he said.

Conflict with restaurant industry

The strike has also created tensions between the BCGEU and the hospitality sector.

Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, has accused the union of using restaurants as pawns and says the industry had no warning before liquor stores were targeted.

Finch pushed back strongly.

“Ian’s comments aside, I think he’s misinformed. He hasn’t reached out to us,” he said.

“His association and the industry are not our adversary—we’ve done our best to try and shield them from the effects of the strike. If this had been a normal job action, you would have seen the entire distribution and store system out from day one.”

When asked why the union didn’t contact the restaurant association in advance, Finch said: “The onus would have been on him to reach out to us, as other industry associations did.”

What happened the last time

This isn’t the first time B.C. liquor supply has been caught in a BCGEU dispute. In 2022, warehouse workers launched limited job action that quickly led to supply shortages and rationing across the province.

At that time, government liquor stores imposed a two-bottle-per-product limit on customers, while private stores scrambled to stock up. The strike action ended after two weeks when the union and government reached a tentative agreement.

The last full-scale strike targeting liquor distribution dates back to 1988, when the BCGEU shut down warehouses and stores for three weeks. That strike disrupted alcohol sales across the province and forced the government to bring in back-to-work legislation to restore service.

Observers say Thursday’s action marks the most significant escalation since then.

Job action so far

The BCGEU rejected the province’s most recent wage offer — two per cent annual increases — countering with demands of four per cent in the first year and 4.25 per cent in the second year.

Finch said less than a third of members are currently on picket lines, but almost a third are engaged in some form of job action.

“We absolutely still have a lot of cards to play, and you’re going to see further and consistent escalations if government does not come back to the table,” he warned.

Union leadership maintains that polling shows the public is on their side, pointing to a Leger survey the union commissioned showing strong support for higher wage increases for civil servants.

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