Workers at the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), OPSEU/SEFPO Local 553, ratified a new collective agreement on June 26 following a contract campaign in which they united together to press for improvements to their working conditions.
The three-year collective agreement, which was endorsed by 84% of voters in the ratification vote, includes the following gains:
- Seven per cent pay increase for all unionized employees (2.75 per cent in 2025, 2.25 per cent in 2026, and 2 per cent in 2027)
- Retroactive pay increase backdated to April 1, 2025
- Achievement of a standardized wage grid, effective April 1, 2027
- Overtime pay to be effective from 36.25 hours rather than 44.00 hours per week
- Two additional paid leave days per year (special and compassionate leave)
- Flexibility with statutory holidays to observe alternate religious holidays
- Improved language around layoff, discipline, and union leave
OCS workers help to ensure Ontarians have safe access to tested and traceable cannabis products. They work with 1,780 retailers across the province that generated more than $2.28 billion in sales in 2025.
The employees had been bargaining since October 30, 2025, but the employer did not move until the members took action together.
After months of negotiations with little movement from OCS management, members held a strike vote on May 13, 2026. In the vote, 100 per cent of members turned out to vote and 80 per cent voted in favour of taking strike action should it be necessary.
OCS workers escalated their organizing in anticipation of the final day of scheduled negotiations on June 22.
On June 15, OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick wrote to cannabis retailers to alert them that a labour disruption at the OCS was possible.
On June 22, while their Bargaining Team was at the table, members engaged in a workplace solidarity action by wearing stickers that read “Union Workers Keep Cannabis Moving” and “Sick of Working Sick”.
This activism created the necessary conditions for a fair renewal agreement to be negotiated. OPSEU/SEFPO members at the OCS achieved important gains in this round of bargaining, which was the union’s second at the public agency established in 2017.
With bargaining set to begin in less than two years for the next contract, members know that winning further improvements will require the involvement of every OCS worker, including stepping up as stewards, speaking with their colleagues, and taking action to show their unity.