Members at La Rocca Creative Cakes ratify new deal – UFCW 175

Richmond Hill, Ont. – January 12, 2016 – UFCW Canada Local 175 members working at La Rocca Creative Cakes in Richmond Hill, Ontario have achieved a new collective agreement.

The agreement comes after negotiations reached a point where a strike deadline had been set.

La Rocca Creative Cakes is one of North America's most respected artisanal dessert manufacturers, producing a wide variety of handcrafted cakes and desserts.

Under the new contract, members will receive wage increases ranging from 1.6 to 2 percent in each year of the agreement, with red-circled employees receiving lump sum payments of $450 per year. As well, an additional 22 employees will be hired.

The new agreement also features new classifications and language improvements that will provide scheduling for preferred start times based on seniority. Other language improvements include the requirement that hours worked on a statutory holiday or paid sick time will now count as overtime. In addition, employees will benefit from short notice vacation requests, and workers with 20 years of service will now receive five weeks of paid vacation.

New language provides drivers working out of the Ottawa area with benefits and a wage rate of $18.10 per hour for a 30-hour work week, with overtime payable after 30 hours in a week.

Members will also receive an improved boot allowance of $100, and the company will contribute $500 per year towards the UFCW Canada Local 175 Training & Education Fund.