Strike possibility looms at Calgary Cargill plant

Nearly 1,000 workers at Cargill’s beef processing plant in Guelph were on strike at the end of May, and there’s a possibility that workers at the Cargill Case Ready plant in Calgary could also hit the picket lines.

“I think the possibility of a strike at the Cargill Case Ready plant is very, very real,” said Chris O’Halloran, executive director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 401 that represents workers at the Calgary plant.

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Strike votes were set for June 5-6.

O’Halloran said the workers have three main issues they want to resolve, among them guaranteed hours to help with the increased cost of living.

“There’s also issues that sort of come around overtime, where people get called in for seven straight days and don’t receive any overtime because they’re not guaranteed enough hours on the other days,” he said.

The union argues that workers aren’t benefitting from processor profits.

The Cargill Case Ready plant prepares counter-ready meat. It comes from the Cargill beef processing plant in High River, after which Calgary workers cut, weigh and bag it. Product is shipped and distributed the same day.

This counter-ready meat is often sold at discount stores like FreshCo or No Frills that don’t have meat cutters.

Labourers at Cargill echo the same concerns as ranchers who say meat processors get a disproportionate share of the profit pie, O’Halloran said.

“That’s the real struggle. The system seems to be stacked against the ranchers, the workers and all the people who are putting everything together.”

Ontario strike

Union workers in Guelph claim similar issues. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 175 said the Cargill Dunlop Drive facility has failed to offer wages that keep up with the cost of living, which is the main motivation for the strike.

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 on May 26.

“Cargill is our main processing plant,” said Craig McLaughlin, president of the Beef Farmers of Ontario.

The plant handles 80 per cent of the Ontario volume. There is another large federal plant in the province, and numerous provincial plants, although they cannot ship out of the country or to other provinces.

David Hultin, communications lead for the Manitoba Beef Producers, said Manitoba ranchers could be affected by the Guelph strike.

“We are hopeful the negotiations between both parties will come to a swift resolution,” he wrote in an email.

Demand for beef increases in the summer months.

“If the temporary closure of the facility is short-lived, we expect the impact on consumers to be minimal as retailers will be working through their current and pre-ordered beef supplies,” Hultin said.

If the Guelph facility is closed for an extended period, producers will need to look elsewhere, which could mean shipping more cattle to Alberta or to the United States.