The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union is warning Doug Ford's Ontario government that its actions against the Crown Royal whiskey brand could lead to layoffs of workers in Quebec and Manitoba.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who drank a bottle of Crown Royal in the middle of a press conference last fall, previously confirmed his intention to ban the brand of whiskey in retaliation for the planned distillery closure in February.
British multinational Diageo plans to close its plant in Amherstburg, Ontario, due to, among other things, new tariffs imposed by Washington on alcohol imports.
Diageo clarified that bottling intended for the American market will be moved to the United States, while bottling intended for Canadian consumers will be installed in Valleyfield, Quebec.
While the union said it stands in solidarity with its members' struggles in Ontario, it expressed concern that Doug Ford's renewed public outburst against Diageo could lead to the loss of hundreds of other jobs at factories in Quebec and Manitoba.
“As usual, Doug Ford is once again giving us a healthy dose of betrayal of Canadian workers,” Barry Sawyer, national president of UFCW Canada, said in a press release yesterday. “Together” doesn’t just mean “sticking together for the sake of Ontario”; “Together” means all Canadian workers must come together and show solidarity.”
According to the union, which insists that hundreds of its members work at Crown Royal in Canada, a boycott is not the answer.
