Strike Averted at Alberta Cargill Plant

Dec 06, 2021

It was not an emphatic stamp of approval, but employees at the Cargill processing plant in High River, AB have accepted a new contract just in time to prevent a work stoppage.

Workers voted 71% in favour of the contract offer, which includes more money and an improvement in benefits. After a previous contract was rejected by a margin of 98%, workers were prepared to walk off the job beginning Monday.

According to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, the contract is the “best of its kind and presented unprecedented gains in this time of economic and political uncertainty and during the biggest health crisis the world has ever seen.” Local 401 previously reported the offer included as much as $4,200 in retroactive pay for many Cargill union members, a $1,000 signing bonus, a $1,000 COVID-19 bonus and a more than a $6,000 total bonus for many members. The deal also included a $5/hour wage increase (21% over the contract) for many employees.

In a statement following the contract approval, Local 401 officials said the union is also calling for reforms and restructuring in the meatpacking industry.

The High River plant, which processes up to one-third of all Canadian beef, was the site of a major COVID-19 outbreak last year. There was a second outbreak at the plant earlier this year.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.