Workers striking outside the Ontario Food Terminal caused traffic delays Thursday morning in the area of The Queensway, east of Parklawn Road, Toronto police said.
About a dozen Fresh Taste employees from Local 419 picketed outside the building at around 1 a.m.
Ken Dean, a business agent and Local 419 member, said the big sticking point in the contract negotiations is money.
“This is the first collective agreement so there is nothing in place prior. We have got a lot of the language figured out but we’ve reached an impasse on the monetary issues,” he said.
According to the striking workers, employees have not had a wage increase in 14 years.
“These guys are significantly paid less than what we believe the industry standard is,” one picketer told CTV Toronto. “We’ve got guys making $14 an hour after multiple, multiple years of service and have not seen a raise in that time.”
It was a tense scene earlier today when employees aggressively approached what appeared to be a manager's vehicle entering the lot. A confrontation took place but no one was injured.
Dean said the group has a protocol in place to manage traffic to ensure that there aren’t major disruptions.
The delay near The Queensway and Parklawn Road has since cleared as the picket line thinned out.
With files from Naomi Parness.
