Many striking Cargill Foods workers have started other jobs to pay their bills while walking the picket line.
Workers received their first strike pay last week of $190 and a number are searching for other jobs with the union’s blessing, said United Food and Commercial Workers spokesperson Wayne Covey.
Some have gone to work for XL Foods in Calgary or Lakeside-IBP at Brooks, Alta.
There is also a labor shortage in the Calgary area where companies need laborers and tradespeople. The union said Cargill could ultimately lose a large number of trained people to these better paying jobs.
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Cargill has attempted to lure people back to work with phone calls and letters, as well as full page ads in newspapers.
Cargill officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
The union says the company will have a hard time finding enough replacement workers to do the job properly. With a hot Calgary job market beckoning, work in a packing plant may be second choice for job hunters.
“Who will cross the picket line for $8 an hour?” said Covey.
Picket line duty is 18 hours a week so people can look for additional work.
Solidarity among workers appears to be holding with few defying the line to go back to work. Many of the workers are new Canadians and have remained solid, Covey said.
“We’re like the United Nations here with a lot of communities on the line. The communities are sticking together.”
Using about 210 supervisory staff and some replacement workers, about 500 cattle a day have been processed, down from the usual 4,000 head per day, said Covey.
The dispute is over wages.
The company offered a four-year contract with a raise of 80 cents an hour the first year, 30 cents for the second year and 20 cents an hour for the final two years. The workers want a $1.95 raise over three years.
