B.C. public service workers’ pickets expand to provincial liquor stores

By Canadian Press on September 24, 2025.

BURNABY — Striking public service workers in British Columbia have expanded their picket lines to 25 Liquor Distribution Branch retail stores in the latest escalation of job action.

The B.C. General Employees’ Union says more than 600 workers at the liquor stores have walked off the job across the province in an effort to push the government back to the negotiating table.

The escalation comes days after the union sharply escalated job action against the province to include the headquarters of the Liquor Distribution Branch as well as three warehouses.

The union says the retail store locations where pickets have gone up were chosen because they are a “significant source of government revenue.”

It says it hopes to send a “clear message” to government with strike action at both liquor distribution and retail locations.

About 14,000 government workers are now taking part in the escalating strike action, which is now into its fourth week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.

The Canadian Press