Workers at the Caboto Club voted 70% in favour of strike action should a deal not be reached by Dec. 5.
Close to 100 bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, maintenance staff and servers filled Unifor's hall on Somme Ave. late into the evening Sunday.
Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt tells AM800 News the vote gives the union leverage to make gains on shift scheduling, seniority, wages and defining part-time and full-time workers.
"We do have some pretty big outstanding issues that we're waiting to get through. I'm hoping this mandate is going to push the company to understand we need to get a deal and our members are behind us," she says. "It just shows this committee that when we get to the table we mean business."
Nesbitt says many workers needed to be reassured of their rights to bargain collectively after fears of termination were raised at the vote — employees joined Unifor back in March.
"There's a lot of intimidation going on within this workplace through management and we heard that loud and clear, but I think we did a great job at articulating and making sure that our members understand the process and know they're safe," says Nesbitt.
She says the Union is optimistic that management will reward a loyal workforce with a fair deal.
Negotiations resume Monday, but talks began in August and the Caboto Club applied for conciliation in early October.
Nesbitt says the deadline for a possible strike is at 12:01am on Dec. 5.
Workers at #Windsor's Caboto Club vote 70 % in favour of a strike mandate. More than 100 employees will be in a legal strike position by midnight on Dec. 5 if a deal isn't reached. @AM800News @CTVWindsor #cklw pic.twitter.com/zarJVxCjyl
— Gord Bacon (@baconAM800) December 3, 2018