Cargill, Union Reach Agreement at High River
A tentative agreement between Cargill and its unionized workers at the High River, Alberta, beef processing plant has been reached, according to the company and the United Food and Commercial Worker’s (UFCW) Union Local 401. The agreement would avoid a threatened strike on Dec. 6, 2021.
UFCW said Wednesday it is recommending its members accept the latest contract offer. The 1,400 employees are scheduled to vote on the agreement through Dec. 4.
UFCW said in a statement the new contract offer, if ratified on Saturday, would be the best food processing contract in Canada. “It is a dramatic improvement from the offer that union members saw last week and will significantly improve Cargill workers’ lives,” the statement said.
The company is offering a six-year collective agreement.
"The offer is comprehensive and fair and includes retroactive pay, signing bonuses, a 21 percent wage increase over the life of the contract and improved health benefits,” Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said.
While wages were an issue, the union also sought improvements for the healthy and safety of workers after more than 900 workers tested positive for COVID-19 in May of 2020. The new contract offers workers a $1,000 signing bonus and a $1,000 “COVID-19 bonus,” according to the union. It also contains “significant contract provisions to facilitate a new culture of health, safety, dignity, and respect in the workplace.”
Cargill and the union have been at loggerheads for some time over issues related to wages as well as health and safety. Workers voted 98 per cent last week against Cargill’s previous offer, and the union had said workers would strike on Monday if a contract agreement couldn’t be reached.
The Cargill High River plant processes 35 per cent of Canada’s beef production.