Eastern Canada’s largest beef processor on strike

Glacier FarmMedia—Nearly 1000 workers at Cargill’s beef processing plant in Guelph hit the picket lines this morning, as workers strike in an effort to gain better compensation.

Union United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 175 cited issues such as the Dunlop Drive facility failing to keep up with the cost of living crisis as motivation for the strike.

In an online statement, UFCW president Kelly Tosato said that “members aren’t satisfied with what the company has brought to the table.”

According to Guelph Today, the company and the union reached a recommended settlement that provided an increase every year for four years. But 82 per cent of union members rejected the negotiated settlement during a vote the morning of Sunday May 26.

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“We will have their backs until their Union Negotiating Committee can achieve a deal that reflects the nature of their hard work and commitment to creating quality food products that feed hundreds of thousands,” said Tosato in the statement.

The Dunlop facility is one of Eastern Canada’s largest beef processing plants. According to Cargill Proteins, it employs 950 people and processes 1,500 head of cattle per day.

Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) President Craig McLaughlin said in a statement sent to Farmario that BFO is aware of the strike situation.

“We have been following the negotiations leading up to today, and we were hopeful an agreement would have been reached over the weekend,” McLaughlin said. “However, members voted down the proposed contract yesterday.”

“We are engaged in the situation and have been in close contact with Minister Thompson, government representatives and the Canadian Cattle Association as we monitor the impact of the temporary closure of the Dunlop facility.”

UFCW Local 401 in Alberta said in a statement of its own that workers at Cargill’s Case Ready facility in Calgary could soon take similar action.

“Soon, we will be taking a strike vote at Cargill Case Ready in Calgary,” the statement read. “The issues facing Case Ready workers are similar to those in Ontario, revolving around wages and compensation.”

They also warned employees of unionized grocery stores like Safeway and Superstore that a strike could mean protestors outside of locations selling Cargill products.