The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Aug. 3, edition that a recent string of rejected tentative agreements is a sign that workers are expecting more from their employers, and their unions. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that Brock University labour studies professor Larry Savage says, "Prepandemic, union members were content with wage increases that more or less kept pace with inflation." However, he says the pandemic, inflation and low unemployment have combined to create a heightened environment for union militancy. Last week, workers at 27 Metro stores across the Greater Toronto Area rejected a tentative agreement that had been reached just after a strike deadline. Kim Coughlin and Samantha Henry, two Metro employees and members of the bargaining committee, said the tentative deal they reached was the best the group has ever achieved -- but it was not enough for the 3,700 workers who are dealing with the skyrocketing cost of living and who still remember working through the COVID-19 pandemic and having their $2-an-hour "hero pay" taken away. Prof. Savage says the workers are "fed up." He says, "They have increased expectations about what their labour is worth."