Nearly a thousand workers at Cargill Dunlop in Guelph hit the picket lines Monday after rejecting a negotiated settlement with the company.
The workers voted 82 per cent against the agreement. They are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 175. The Cargill Dunlop facility in Guelph is a beef slaughter plant where, according to the union, workers are "in a hot, fast-paced environment that takes a toll."
Negotations between the union and management saw the union press the company on a number of issues, including the cost of living and the $2 per hour pandemic pay that the union claims was taken away while "still deep in the middle of COVID."
“Our members at Cargill Dunlop are an integral part of a vital supply chain that helps keep food on the table for people every day,” said Kelly Tosato, President of UFCW Local 175. “The decision to go on strike is never easy but these members aren’t satisfied with what the company has brought to the table. And we will have their backs until their Union Negotiating Committee can achieve a deal that reflects the nature of their hard work and commitment to creating quality food products that feed hundreds of thousands.”