Jason Herring
Publishing date:Nov 11, 2021
A sign is shown outside the Cargill facility in High River, AB, south of Calgary
on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.
PHOTO BY JIM WELLS/POSTMEDIA
Workers at a Cargill plant outside High River will hit the picket line in less than a month if a deal with the company cannot be reached, according to their union.
It’s a labour dispute that could inject even more uncertainty into a beef market already seeing soaring prices in North America amid global supply chain snarls.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 said it served a strike notice to Cargill representatives at a Wednesday negotiating meeting in Calgary. The notice said the union will strike beginning Dec. 6 unless a deal is reached on a new collective agreement.
In a vote the previous week, 97 per cent of about 1,400 workers who cast ballots were in favour of taking strike action amid a stall in bargaining.
Union spokesman Scott Payne told Postmedia at the time members were frustrated with a lack of movement toward an agreement, after the previous contract expired at the end of 2020. He said the union wants a new deal to address concerns around health and safety, including issues related to COVID-19, as well as movement within the company and wages.
The High River facility is the largest in the country and accounts for roughly 40 per cent of Canada’s beef processing capacity. According to Cargill’s website, the High River plant employs more than 2,000 people across two shifts and processes about 4,500 head of cattle daily.
A strike, if it occurs, would come as red meat touches record prices. It’s the latest example of workers flexing new-found leverage in a company critical to food supply chains.
That could mean a drop in packaged beef on store shelves as well as more “meatflation.” Farmers will also likely have to hold onto their animals longer, which increases production costs.
In a statement from Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan on Thursday, the company said it has exchanged proposals with the union, which include increased wages “well beyond the industry standard” as well as increased benefits and cash bonuses.
“Unfortunately, we have yet to reach an agreement. However, we are optimistic that we can, and we will continue to work toward an agreement by the Union’s December 6 strike deadline,” the company’s statement read.
“We remain focused on employee safety, ensuring farmers and ranchers have access to markets and providing meals for families across Canada.”
Payne has said he believes a strike is the most likely outcome of the labour dispute.
Cargill’s High River plant faced scrutiny last spring, when it was home to Canada’s largest outbreak of COVID-19 , leading to worker concerns over pandemic health and safety.
Just under 950 workers tested positive for the virus during the outbreak, representing nearly half the plant’s workforce; three deaths were linked to the outbreak, including workers Benito Quesada, 51, and Hiep Bui, 67.
The outbreak led to a temporary shutdown at the plant, with operations put on pause for two weeks in an attempt to get virus spread under control.
—With files from Marcy Nicholson, Bloomberg News
Workers at a Cargill plant outside High River will hit the picket line in less than a month if a deal with the company cannot be reached, according to their union.
It’s a labour dispute that could inject even more uncertainty into a beef market already seeing soaring prices in North America amid global supply chain snarls.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 said it served a strike notice to Cargill representatives at a Wednesday negotiating meeting in Calgary. The notice said the union will strike beginning Dec. 6 unless a deal is reached on a new collective agreement.
In a vote the previous week, 97 per cent of about 1,400 workers who cast ballots were in favour of taking strike action amid a stall in bargaining.
Union spokesman Scott Payne told Postmedia at the time members were frustrated with a lack of movement toward an agreement, after the previous contract expired at the end of 2020. He said the union wants a new deal to address concerns around health and safety, including issues related to COVID-19, as well as movement within the company and wages.
The High River facility is the largest in the country and accounts for roughly 40 per cent of Canada’s beef processing capacity. According to Cargill’s website, the High River plant employs more than 2,000 people across two shifts and processes about 4,500 head of cattle daily.
A strike, if it occurs, would come as red meat touches record prices. It’s the latest example of workers flexing new-found leverage in a company critical to food supply chains.
That could mean a drop in packaged beef on store shelves as well as more “meatflation.” Farmers will also likely have to hold onto their animals longer, which increases production costs.
In a statement from Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan on Thursday, the company said it has exchanged proposals with the union, which include increased wages “well beyond the industry standard” as well as increased benefits and cash bonuses.
“Unfortunately, we have yet to reach an agreement. However, we are optimistic that we can, and we will continue to work toward an agreement by the Union’s December 6 strike deadline,” the company’s statement read.
“We remain focused on employee safety, ensuring farmers and ranchers have access to markets and providing meals for families across Canada.”
Payne has said he believes a strike is the most likely outcome of the labour dispute.
Cargill’s High River plant faced scrutiny last spring, when it was home to Canada’s largest outbreak of COVID-19 , leading to worker concerns over pandemic health and safety.
Just under 950 workers tested positive for the virus during the outbreak, representing nearly half the plant’s workforce; three deaths were linked to the outbreak, including workers Benito Quesada, 51, and Hiep Bui, 67.
The outbreak led to a temporary shutdown at the plant, with operations put on pause for two weeks in an attempt to get virus spread under control.
—With files from Marcy Nicholson, Bloomberg News
'Couldn’t come at a worse time': Analysts worry about potential impacts from Cargill strike
Teri Fikowski
CTV News Calgary Video Journalistt
Updated Nov. 12, 2021 9:12 p.m. MST
CALGARY -
You may have noticed record high prices at the meat counter recently and according to analysts, you could see fewer options and a major impact to beef producers if workers at the Cargill plant in High River, Alta. go on strike next month.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents some 2,000 workers at the meat processing plant, delivered a strike notice to Cargill representatives Wednesday after 97 per cent of workers voted in favour. They’ve been without a contract since the end of 2020 and are demanding fair compensation and a safe workplace.
The cost of beef has skyrocketed to record highs since late 2020, due largely to a rise in grain prices, supply chain issues and labour disruptions, but analysts don’t expect a strike at the plant to translate into even higher prices for consumers.
“Grocers may decided not to carry as many products at the meat counter when it comes to beef. They’ll probably fill the space with more poultry, more hogs really so more pork,” said Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“Consumers have options, you have the meat trifecta with chicken and pork and they can go pick another type of meat.”
That will only happen if the plant shuts down due to a labour disruption, which Charlebois believes is very unlikely.
“I don’t think Cargill can afford a labour dispute, they’ll have to settle and if they do settle than wages will go up significantly," he said.
In a statement on Thursday, UFCW Local 401 president Thomas Hesse said if a deal isn't struck by Dec. 6, workers will go on strike.
"A picket line will be highly visible, and a strike appears to be a viable weapon in achieving a fair offer in negotiations," the union said.
“They want compensation for everything they’ve went through,” said Hesse. “How do you really put a number on the kind of suffering that these workers have felt? Hundreds of them got the disease, some slept in the garage because they were terrified to give it to their family.”
MAJOR BEEF PRODUCER
Cargill handles around 35 per cent of beef processed in Canada, with some 4,500 head of cattle slaughtered a day.
The facility had to shut down during the pandemic due to a massive COVID-19 outbreak, with around half of all workers contracting the virus and the deaths of two employees.
“Closing the plant for a while is going to be a problem for the entire sector. With the 26 last year I believe it took four months for the entire industry to get back to some kind of normal,” said Charlebois.
Cattle producers would likely take the biggest blow from a shutdown after already enduring one last year along with other challenges from the pandemic and a tough drought season.
“The biggest losers would be farmers by far, they would be stuck with access inventory and would have to continue to feed cattle," said Charlebois.
"The grain market is quite expensive these days so they would have to keep on feeding cattle with highly expensive prices for feed. So if there’s a labour dispute farmers are highly vulnerable right now.”
COULDN'T COME AT A WORSE TIME
The Alberta Cattle Feeders says a strike couldn’t come at a worst time.
Grain prices have almost doubled from a year ago and says if Cargill shutdown next month it will only compound the problems facing farmers.
“Plants are behind already with labour shortages and processing cattle,” says “Unfortunately it’s going to be so hard on our industry, I’m just not sure how we’re going to recover and some people are going to be absolutely devastated by it financially.”
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Cargill said they negotiations were still taking place and remained optimistic an agreement will be reached.
"At Cargill, we greatly value our employees and the work they do to feed Canadians. Over the last two days, our company and the union representing employees at our High River protein facility have exchanged multiple comprehensive proposals that included increased wages well beyond the industry standard, enhanced employee benefits and cash bonus’ for active employees," read a statement.
"We believe that our proposal is very fair and representative of our values to put people first and do the right thing.
"Unfortunately, we have yet to reach an agreement. However, we are optimistic that we can, and we will continue to work towards an agreement by the Union’s Dec. 6 strike deadline. We remain focused on employee safety, ensuring farmers and ranchers have access to markets and providing meals for families across Canada."
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