Liquor Control Board of Ontario workers want to keep ownership public and set better guidelines for casual staff.
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union are holding protests throughout the province in response to privatization of the LCBO and unfair work practices.
Employee Jennifer Van Zetten and about a half dozen others stood outside the Howard Ave. location handing out pamphlets and answering questions Friday.
Van Zetten says moving liquor and beer sales to grocery stores is the first step in a larger move that could cost even more jobs.
She's been working as a casual at the LCBO for more than 17 years and she says there needs to be more stability.
"There's casuals that have been in the workplace for our 17 years and they don't have any access to the full-time benefits, no sick time, no vacation," she says.
Van Zetten says some employees never know when or if they're going to work, and the shifts can be so short they may have to work everyday to make a living wage.
"Most of our casuals are working seven days a week just to make ends meet, which I think is just shameful when they put in the years and the dedication to the LCBO," Van Zetten says.
She says the LCBO has been increasing its use of temp workers and seasonal employee, who they pay substantially less.
Those workers are eating up hours that could be given to their casual staff, according to Van Zetten.
"I think its public knowledge about the proposals and contracting out, I mean we do have agency workers that work in our logistics facilities, which we think is shameful in the sense that we are a bargaining unit work place. However, they bring in agency workers to do our jobs," she says.
A statement by LCBO CEO George Soleas says the company is already in the process of adding more than 200 new full time positions. the company needs to evolve to keep pace in the modern market.
But Van Zetten says revenue from the LCBO returns to the community through public services, and it needs to be protected from privatization.