As the strike of unionized workers at Canada’s largest meat packing plant enters its third week, there is no sign of further bargaining on a first contract.
In an attempt to bypass the picket lines, officials at Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alta., are building temporary roads through fields around the plant to bring workers in more quickly. One road runs parallel to one behind Lakeside and links to it every few hundred metres.
Tom Hesse, the United Food and Commercial Worker’s Local 401 union negotiator, said there was chaos at the picket line on the morning of Oct. 24 as the company continued to build new roads and the strikers put up new pickets at each entrance.
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“It significantly slows down the company’s ability to operate. We’ve effectively shut the plant down,” said Hesse. He was speaking on behalf of the union while local leader Doug O’Halloran recovered from injuries suffered when his vehicle was forced off the road. Two Lakeside managers have been charged in connection with the collision.
“Any picketing is going to have a significant impact on their ability to do their business. That’s just the reality,” said Hesse. “If they devoted half the time to negotiating as they did to access roads, we’d have a deal.”
About a dozen trucks delivered cattle to the plant the night of Oct. 23 with little resistance.
Lyle Oberg, the area MLA, has offered to help bring the two sides together to help the community.
“If you think 2,500 employees at one particular plant, and roughly half of them crossing the picket line, it certainly makes for a lot of animosity in the community. It’s not a pleasant situation in Brooks,” said Oberg.
Beyond that offer, Oberg said there is little the government can do to encourage a settlement.
“When it comes to ranchers, the majority are backing the company. Lakeside is a fixture in our community for a lot of years,” Oberg said.
Last week, two Lakeside workers were killed and four more sent to hospital, with two still in critical condition, after two vehicles collided during a shift change of the strikers near the plant. Company officials were not involved in the accident.
Hesse said the deaths have galvanized the workers’ resolve to remain on the picket line. Each side in the dispute claims loyalty from half the 2,400 workers at the plant.
Hesse said about 200 plant workers have quit and others are searching for different jobs.
“The plant is developing a significant stigma. No one wants to go work there.”
Hesse said he hoped there would be some pressure from cattle ranchers and industry groups to get the two sides back to the bargaining table.
“Now we’re starting to wonder where the ranchers are at, particularly where the industry groups are. They’re not saying ‘we don’t like what’s happening to the workers that process our products’, ” said Hesse. “You can’t sit at the sidelines forever.”
Darcy Davis, chair of the Alberta Beef Producers, said the group would like both sides to resume bargaining.
“Our take on it is we’d like both sides to show some common sense and come to some kind of agreement. We’re also taking the stand that we need that capacity,” said Davis, who plans to raise those concerns with politicians soon.
“We’ve taken a stand. It’s between the union and the packing plant but the capacity is extremely important to the industry. We understand that having us involved doesn’t make the water any clearer,” said Davis.
He said the impact of the strike on the industry has been minimal so far because of the small number of fat cattle available for slaughter and the ability to ship to the United States.
Gary Mickelson, Tyson Foods manager of communication, did not return calls before the Western Producer
deadline.
