The Cargill plant in High River, Alta, on April 29, 2020.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
The union representing employees at a Cargill meat-packing plant blasted a ruling on the company’s pandemic response as “shameful and callous,” the latest sign of labour tensions at the food-processing giant in Canada.
In a recent decision, arbitrator James Casey concluded that Cargill had largely met its obligations to ensure the health and safety of its employees during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, which spread rapidly at the company’s facility in High River, Alta., infecting hundreds and causing three deaths.
Mr. Casey wrote that the incomplete and rapidly changing information about the COVID virus during the first few months of the pandemic was a major factor in his decision. He wrote that, on the advice of public-health bodies, by April, 2020, Cargill had instituted safety measures to protect its workers against droplet transmission and physical contact. At the time, the scientific community did not believe COVID-19 was airborne.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union said it will appeal the June 10 arbitration decision that found Cargill protected the health and safety of its employees during the COVID pandemic.
In a statement, the union called the decision “shameful and callous” and “contradictory,” arguing that the plant should have been temporarily shut down and inspected, and that its members deserved compensation. Its nearly 2,000 local members were seeking $20-million in damages, $10,000 for each member and an additional $100,000 for the union.
Three deaths were linked to the meat-packing plant. More than 900 people contracted the virus, making it the one of the largest Canadian outbreaks during the pandemic.
“It’s empty, it’s insulting and it doesn’t show deference to the importance of health and safety,” UFCW Local 401 president Thomas Hesse said of the ruling.
The news comes as Cargill – the multinational that processes 55 per cent of Canadian beef at several facilities – faces a series of labour struggles. On May 27, a slaughterhouse in Guelph, Ont., stopped operating after workers voted to strike on the grounds of poor wages. The strike is continuing. And on June 7, a Calgary meat-packing plant voted to strike if a labour agreement isn’t reached by late July.
“The arbitrator made it clear that we protected our employees during the unprecedented challenges brought on by the global COVID crisis,” Cargill spokesman Chuck Miller said in a statement to The Globe and Mail. “Sadly, there were lives lost due to the pandemic and our hearts broke alongside their colleagues, families and friends.”
Alain Mendoza, who works at the High River packing house, was frustrated and dismayed by the decision.
During the height of the pandemic, he worked alongside hundreds of other employees, shoulder to shoulder. It wasn’t long until he began displaying COVID-like symptoms. His workmate – Benito Quesada – took over some of his work. A few weeks later, Mr. Quesada caught COVID. He died in May, 2020.
“He did just what he had to do,” Mr. Mendoza said. “That’s a burden for me to carry.”
Two other people connected to the slaughterhouse died: Bui Thi Hiep and Armando Sallegue, father of a Cargill employee.
Union chair Mr. Hesse believes Cargill was “let off the hook.” On April 12, 2020, he wrote a letter to Cargill calling for a temporary two-week closing. He also requested an inspection of the plant.
Cargill did close the plant in early May; however, this was driven by poor attendance, not safety concerns.
To Mr. Hesse, the three deaths and the outbreak could have been avoided had Cargill taken necessary precautions. He believes the results of the arbitration ignore this.
“This was an elitist rationalization for what was completely morally unacceptable behaviour.”
Cargill’s Mr. Miller noted that the arbitrator’s ruling highlighted the fact that public-health authorities determined certain businesses could not close because they made essential products for society.
The results of the arbitration, the strike at the Guelph slaughterhouse and possible strike in Calgary are connected, said Mr. Hesse, whose union also represents workers at the Calgary plant. That plant packages beef slaughtered at High River and distributes it to grocery stores throughout Canada. A major concern for Calgary employees is pay increases amid the affordability crisis, he said.
Employees at the Guelph Cargill plant also cited inadequate wages and cost-of-living increases. The Guelph plant is the largest in Eastern Canada. Its closing has left Ontario and Quebec ranchers with few options for where to send their cattle.
Working at slaughterhouses is difficult, Mr. Hesse said. Workers struggle with repetitive strain and high rates of injury, in addition to the mental toll of slaughtering animals. The work can also be dangerous. Comparatively high wages used to help, but increased living costs mean that many workers are not seeing the value or purpose to staying in meat packing. Many workers are migrants, he said. The wages used to afford a quality of life with extra income to send home, but for many this is no longer possible, he said.
Mr. Mendoza agrees. When he started working at the High River slaughterhouse in 2008, he made approximately $18 an hour, more than his friends who worked elsewhere. But he said that is no longer the case.
“It makes me sad,” he said. “Before, we were one of the top companies, and now we are one of the least. It shows that the company does not give us as much value as before.”