Alberta Meatpacking Workers Fight for Their Rights
Tentative Agreement Reached at Cargill after Overwhelming Strike Vote
Workers at the High River Cargill meatpacking plant hold strike vote, November 24, 2021.
On December 1, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401
announced that the Cargill Bargaining Committee had reached a proposed
agreement that would be put to the members for ratification. "The
Company's new offer is a dramatic improvement from the offer that union
members saw last week and will significantly
improve Cargill workers' lives. If ratified, the offer would be the best
food processing contract in Canada, thanks entirely to the strength and
determination of Cargill union members in seeking justice," the
statement said.
The proposed settlement follows an overwhelming rejection of the
company's previous offer. On November 24, Local 401 announced that the
workers had rejected Cargill's offer by a 98 per cent margin, with more
than 80 per cent of the workers voting. Local 401 then set a strike
deadline of December 6 at 12:01 am.
Cargill responded by issuing a lockout notice, also effective
December 6 at 12:01 am. The company then started advertising for scab
replacement workers and began erecting fences around the plant to limit
access. The union announced on November 24 that negotiations would
continue on November 30, and reported on December 1 that a tentative
agreement had been reached after a marathon session.
There are about 2,200 workers at the Cargill High River plant,
located about 70 kilometres from Calgary, which processes 4,700 head of
cattle per day, or about one third of total Canadian beef processed.
Cargill Inc. had revenues of U.S.$134.4 billion in fiscal 2021, and net
earnings of $4.93 billion in fiscal 2021, up 64 per cent from 2020.
Cargill Inc. is owned by the Cargill-MacMillan family, which has an
estimated worth of U.S.$47 billion. This vast fortune was amassed by
these oligarchs from the labour of the Cargill workers without regard
for their safety or well-being or that of their community. The Cargill
workers’ experience has taught them that it is their unity and
collective strength which is decisive in their fight to defend their
rights and dignity.
Major concerns in negotiations are wages and improved benefits, and
matters of health and safety. The Cargill workers are known for the
courage and determination they have shown in defending their right to a
safe workplace and safe communities. Three lives were lost and 949
workers were infected with COVID-19 in the first wave alone. Cargill
did everything it could to ignore the solutions proposed by Local 401
and the right of the workers to participate in investigations and
decision-making, but the workers finally forced the company to take
action, including closure of the plant.
The union's statement says the tentative agreement includes retroactive pay, a
$1,000 signing bonus and a $1,000 COVID-19 bonus, and for many workers
an increase of $5.00 an hour (21 per cent over the life of the contract)
and more than $6,000 in total bonuses. The proposed agreement also
provides for "significant contract provisions to facilitate a
new culture of health, safety, dignity, and respect in the workplace,"
and improved health benefits for Cargill workers and their families.
Local 401 President Thomas Hesse and Secretary-Treasurer Richelle
Stewart both stressed that the union would stand with the members at
Cargill, whether they decide to accept the proposed agreement or reject
it.
This article was published in
December 3, 2021 - No. 115
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO081152.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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