Stop funding CEOs: OPSEU/SEFPO launches 'absurd' ad campaign to stop Ford's latest 'alcohol everywhere' corporate cash grab

TORONTO, May 14, 2024 /CNW/ - OPSEU/SEFPO, the union representing LCBO workers, is going on the offensive with an ad campaign that calls out the absurdity of Premier Ford's plan to privatize alcohol sales and hand billions of dollars in public revenue over to grocery chains and corporations. The union has launched sofundme.ca – a parody crowdfunding site that's "Helping Doug Ford help billionaires".

DID YOU KNOW: The LCBO puts $2.5 Billion of revenue into Ontario’s public services every year? If you think THIS ↑ guy shouldn’t have it, head over to SoFundMe.ca and help stop his campaign.

"Ford says he'll never sell the LCBO, but actions speak louder than words and Ontarians have learned that he can't be trusted," said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. "Expanding alcohol sales to grocery chains, big box and convenience stores & gas stations is just the latest scam to put our money in the pockets of CEOs and Ford's friends."

Each year, roughly $2.5 billion in LCBO revenues are invested directly in public services that we all rely on like health care and education. Whether they work or shop at the LCBO, every Ontarian deserves to benefit from that investment.

"LCBO workers are ready to fight back to protect public services and stop Ford from giving away Ontarians' hard-earned money, especially during a cost-of-living crisis," said Colleen MacLeod, Chair of OPSEU/SEFPO's Liquor Board Employees Division (LBED) and the Bargaining Team.

The campaign comes at a time when grocery store chains are seeing record profits and public sentiment at an all-time low. As just one example, Loblaws' latest quarterly earnings report showed profits grow nearly 10 per cent over last year, and thousands of Canadians across the country are currently participating in a boycott of the brand.

In the new ad, out-of-touch billionaire Callum tries to relate to the public by talking about his own so-called "struggles" and pleading with them to "stop funding public services and start funding me." The union says the ad is almost as absurd as Premier Ford's 'alcohol-everywhere' corporate cash grab. 

Last December, the Ford government announced they would scrap the cap on the number of grocery stores who sell alcohol and open the door to convenience stores and gas stations selling beer, wine, cider and pre-mixed, "ready to drink" cocktails.          

The union is currently in negotiations with the employer and has made it clear from the beginning that in this round of bargaining, LCBO workers are prepared to fight back against Ford's privatization plans and to protect this public asset and the revenues it generates for generations to come.

OPSEU/SEFPO represents 180,000 public service workers in Ontario, including more than 9,000 LCBO workers.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

contact Katie Arnup, OPSEU/SEFPO communications at [email protected] or 647-881-2939