Workers at Cargill beef processing plant give four-week strike notice

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on November 11, 2021.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

Workers at one of Alberta’s largest beef packing plants will go on strike early next month, according to the union representing 2,100 workers at Cargill’s High River processing facility.

The United Food and Commercial Workers, local No. 401, says it delivered strike notice at a bargaining session on Wednesday, stating its members will walk off the job on Dec. 6 if progress isn’t made.

No. 401 president Thomas Hesse says public sympathy will be with the workers at the plant, which was the site of one of Canada’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020.

“It became clear to Canadians that meaningful action was only achieved for Cargill workers because of the strength of Local 401 and its members,” said Hesse in a release, promising widespread picketing not only at the plant but also grocery stores and restaurants.

Last week the union said the company was backtracking on recommendations made by mediators brought in to help replace a contract that expired at the end of 2020.

A subsequent strike vote among the 2,100 Cargill employees passed with 97% approval with about 80% of members taking part, according to the UFCW officials.

The union also represents 2,500 workers at the JBS plant in Brooks. The collective agreement there expires in early January 2022.