MONTREAL - A depanneur abruptly closed Thursday night, giving employees two minutes to get their things and get out.
The move happened the same day a dozen unionized employees undertook their first step toward putting pressure on their employer: wearing stickers on their uniforms.
Employees of the Couche-Tard at Jean Talon and Iberville streets were in the middle of negotiating their first contract. They belong to one of four unionized shops in the province, and their union representatives say this is the second time Couche-Tard has shut down a store since employees joined a union.
The Couche-Tard store at Beaubien and St. Denis streets closed in April, which prompted the CSN to take Couche-Tard to court.
The union says the closure of the store is direct related to employees deciding to join a union.
Earlier this year Couche-Tard president Alain Bouchard sent a video message to employees, saying the company would be forced to close stores if employees joined a union.
Couche-Tard operates 5700 depanneurs and service stations across Canada and the United States.
On August 30, 2011 Couche-Tard declared a 10 percent rise in quarterly profits, with earnings of US$140 million.
With files from The Canadian Press
