UFCW Canada Local 401 meat-packing members at the XL Lakeside beef plant in Brooks, Alberta, have said “Yes” to a new union contract by 92%.

Ratified on July 13, the new contract features substantial wage improvements, retroactive pay and a significant increase to benefits. Also, new health and safety protections, food safety provisions and new rights for Temporary Foreign Workers have been negotiated.

“Union contracts are never good enough for our hard working members, but this contract goes a long way towards improving the pay cheques and day-to-day working lives of XL Lakeside employees in Brooks,” says UFCW Canada Local 401 President Douglas O’Halloran. “I am pleased with the agreement but more importantly, I am satisfied with the high endorsement level of the workers. Union members at the plant are what matter most to me.”

The high level of endorsement among workers proves that there is a high level of support for the union in Brooks. This is a second collective agreement and there can be no doubt that there is a growing acknowledgment of the value of the union at the XL Lakeside plant.

Owned by XL Foods, the Lakeside plant is the largest beef processing facility in Canada, employing over 2,200 workers who process a significant portion of the country’s red meat supply.

For more information about the Canadian beef industry, see the latest edition of By the Numbers.