Strike action avoided at Cargill beef plant in High River, Alta.
Cargill workers approved a new contract with 71 per cent support, avoiding a strike or lockout.
After two days of voting, employees at the beef-processing plant in High River, Alta., embraced the new labour contract.
In a statement, the United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW) Local 401, representing workers at the plant, said on Saturday that it was a "bittersweet victory."
The site, employing about 2,000 people, experienced a COVID-19 outbreak last year that affected more than 900 people and forced Cargill to close the plant temporarily. Three deaths have been linked to the outbreak, including two workers and one family member.
Workers will receive $4,200 in retroactive pay, a $1,000 signing bonus, a 21 per cent wage increase over the life of the contract, and improved health benefits. The company also agreed to provisions to facilitate a new culture of health, safety, dignity, and respect in the workplace.
"Our employees in High River are important to Cargill's work to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way," said Jarrod Gillig, Cargill North America's business operations and supply chain president, in a statement to CTV News.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement that is comprehensive, fair, and reflective of their commitment to excellence at Cargill and the critical role they play in feeding families across Canada."
STRIKE AVERTED
According to UFCW Local 401, the union and workers were ready for a potential strike, erecting tents in front of the plant, installing floodlights and propane heaters, levelling nearby fields to act as parking lots, and finalizing a picketing payroll system.
UFCW Local 401 president Thomas Hesse previously told CTV News that the deal was "fair" but would support workers on the picket line if they decided to reject the offer.
"Tomorrow, work will begin to enforce and apply the new provisions of the Cargill union contract," Hesse said in a statement Saturday. "Local 401 congratulates and thanks Cargill union members and our Cargill Bargaining Committee."
Hesse added that the past few months were trying for many employees at the plant.
MORE WORK TO DO
While the decision was not an easy one and a cause for celebration, UFCW Local 401 says there is further work.
The union says workers at the JBS Plant in Brooks, Alta., observed the Cargill proceedings as they head into bargaining for a new contract next year. Additionally, the UFCW Local 401 says it plans to continue pushing for meatpacking industry reforms and restructuring.
As prices for meat continue to soar at the grocery store, Hesse said more needs to be done to better support workers and ranchers.
"Workers have been ripped off. Ranchers have been ripped off. And we've all been ripped off at the supermarket counter," he said. "Government failed to protect these workers, as well as failing to protect Alberta ranchers and consumers. Change must occur."
With files from CTV News Calgary's Michael Franklin
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.