Approximately 1,000 workers at Cargill’s Dunlop beef processing plant in Guelph, Ontario, are on strike as of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, May 27, according to the union.
The workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 175, voted against the settlement talks on Sunday.
The union says it has raised a number of issues at the bargaining table, including rising cost of living and the elimination of the $2 an hour pandemic pay provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Cargill Dunlop’s union members are essential parts of the supply chain that is crucial to putting food on people’s tables every day,” said Kelly Tosato, president of UFCW Local 175, in a news release. “The decision to go on strike is never easy, but our members are not satisfied with the terms the company has offered them, and we will continue to support them until the union’s negotiating committee reaches an agreement that reflects their hard work and dedication to making quality food that feeds hundreds of thousands of people.”
The plant, located on Guelph’s east side, is one of the largest beef processing facilities in Eastern Canada — processing 1,500 head of cattle per day and employing 950 people, according to the Cargill Protein website — and is also the only large-scale halal-certified facility in Canada.
The Ontario Beef Producers Association (BFO) and the Ontario Beef Feeders Association (OCFA) say they hope negotiations between the two sides are resolved quickly.
“BFO and OCFA have been following the negotiations through to date and were hopeful of reaching an agreement over the weekend,” the groups said in a statement released May 27. “We are involved in the situation and are in close contact with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and government representatives as we monitor the impact of the temporary closure of the Dunlop facility.”
