Union backtracks from downtown business boycott after backlash

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The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has changed its messaging around boycotting downtown businesses, now calling for members to simply “buy local” rather than “buy nothing” after its original call received backlash from the mayor of Ottawa.

The union had been encouraging its members to boycott downtown businesses after the federal government started requiring public servants to return to work in office at least three days a week as of Monday. But the union now says that it is not calling for a boycott of downtown businesses.

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“After speaking to local business leaders and our members, I acknowledge that this approach was misguided, and our intention has never been to pit federal workers against small downtown businesses,” said Ruth Lau MacDonald, PSAC’s regional executive vice president for the National Capital Region, in a statement released Thursday afternoon. 

In a social media post Wednesday, the union encouraged its members to “buy nothing,” arguing that “the needs of the downtown core shouldn’t fall on the backs of workers and the federal public service.”

“How workers spend their money on in-office days will send a clear message to politicians,” the post read, adding that members should pack a lunch, buy local as much as possible and promote their neighbourhood businesses.

The post soon received backlash from Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who previously said the government’s update to its remote work policy would be better for downtown Ottawa and better for public transit.

“I’m very disappointed to see PSAC targeting small businesses in their dispute with the federal government,” Sutcliffe said on social media. “Downtown businesses are not responsible for decisions about back to work.”

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An updated social media post shared by PSAC on Wednesday shared a similar message with a new title. That post has also since been deleted. 

Instead of “buy nothing,” the top of the second post read “buy local” with the new wording placed on an illustration of tape.

In an email Thursday morning, Lau MacDonald said the union recognizes “the major challenges small business owners have faced since the pandemic” and shares “the desire for thriving communities, in Ottawa’s downtown core and across the region.”

When asked whether the change in wording in its social media post was in response to the mayor’s criticism, the union claimed it simply looking to clarify its message.

“The federal government has to work alongside the City of Ottawa and the business community to reimagine our city centres without putting the burden on federal workers,” Lau MacDonald said, adding that the union encourages members to support small businesses whether it is where they work or live, though recognizes that many don’t have the means to do so given the added cost of commuting and childcare. “There need to be long-term solutions that address the needs of residents, workers and business owners.”

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The mayor has been a vocal proponent of bringing federal public servants back into the office in a bid to help ailing businesses downtown. PSAC has argued that the government’s new-in office rules, which impact roughly 282,000 public servants, cater to downtown business coalitions.

At an early morning event on Thursday, Sutcliffe said he hoped PSAC would rethink and withdraw the statement it put out on Wednesday and instead encourage its members to support the downtown local economy.

He noted that many “are small businesses, many of which have employees, have people who are part of the labour system in our capital, whose jobs rely on the economic activity of people coming downtown, so I hope they’ll rethink that one.”

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