NEWS
Well, they done did it. Didn’t nobody think they’d do it, but they done did it.
The LCBO employees have gone on strike for the first time since the advent of the organization in 1927. It has taken nearly a century, but they’ve finally decided to protest working conditions. This didn’t even happen in the 1950’s when you had to hand in your ration book and wait for them to come out of the back with your whiskey in a plain brown bag. You were then forced to leave the store wearing a small conical hat that just said “shame,” while neighbourhood gossips would point and hoot.
There are a lot of reasons for the strike, not the least of which is the fact that only 30% of the employees for the chain are full time union members. That number will eventually dwindle through simple careerist attrition on a long enough timeline. Remember, we’re talking a century here. This moment in time is one of the last in which the union is likely to have the leverage to strike in a way that means something. They probably feel as though union positions should be better supported by the chain, given the large amount of money the LCBO’s revenue represents. I wrote about that over here, if you’re feeling nerdy and want to understand the bigger picture.
In the meantime, the Ontario Government has very helpfully put together a map of all the places you can buy alcohol that aren’t the LCBO. Given that they have sourced that data from AGCO records, and that it could have been done at any point in the last twenty years, one does wonder what the provincial tourism minister has been doing on that docket since the late 90’s. I mean, I made a map for goodness sake.
This might not go quite as well as the premier seems to think. Under the new plan, grocery stores are staying away in droves because they don’t want to have to deal with returns of bottles and cans. The margin they make on beer and wine sales would be eaten away by it. Probably, the margin they make is eaten away by planogramming. Look at the picture above from a midtown Toronto Loblaws from day four of the strike. They’re using the beer fridge for margarine and the selection is down to about five items. It wouldn’t surprise me if the number of grocery retailers actually drops this year.
Alcohol sales at Grocery and Convenience Stores are what you’d call a loss leader. In other jurisdictions as well. You’d need to move a lot of volume in order to do much better than break even. What this means is that there’s a lot of uncertainty out there on both sides of the strike.
Don’t expect the strike to end by the 19th. The scuttlebutt is that incoming global shipments have been suspended. It took them 97 years to gee up for it, and they’re likely to fight.
EVENTS
There are many fine events this weekend that might entertain and delight if you’re looking for an excuse to leave the house and try some delicious beverages.
Because Beer is happening in Hamilton, Ontario at the very scenic and not currently swimmable Pier 4 Park. Billy Talent is headlining Friday, with Tokyo Police Club on Saturday, and PUP on Sunday. It’s always a good time.
There’s the North On Tap festival in Haileybury which has a smaller, yet still mighty selection of local brewers attending.
Moonfest is taking place at the Sons of Kent brewery in Chatham-Kent. It is sponsored by TekSavvy, so it’s nice to know my internet bill is helping.
Sunday sees the return of a beer festival to the Evergreen Brickworks with their 2024 Craft Beer Festival. Drink a beer and then stare at the one really big snapping turtle in the quarry. Also, there’s a marvelously aromatic patch of Cow Vetch just north of the main building.
THE SIX PACK
Look, this week, I’m not going to talk about individual beers. The LCBO is on strike and for the most part, that’s going to hurt breweries of a certain size: big enough to depend on that chain to sell volume for revenue, but small enough that they’re not able to sell their beer outside of their own backyard. It’s actually disastrous for RTDs (since they can only sell through the LCBO) and contract brands (since they can’t deliver), but I can’t really think of a way to help them.
My best advice is to find a small brewery that you really like that is temporarily locked out because of the strike and instead of cherry picking a single interesting looking beer, buy a case of something that you know you like. It’s July. This is not time for hoity-toity sippery.
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