Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Business

Meatpackers Union Argues Cargill Undermined Efforts in Outbreak

  • Alberta labor board continues hearings this week on UFCW case
  • Union made unfair labor practice complaint amid Covid outbreak
The Cargill beef plant in High River, Alberta, Canada, on May 4, 2020. 

The Cargill beef plant in High River, Alberta, Canada, on May 4, 2020. 

Photographer: Alex Ramadan/Bloomberg

Cargill Inc. is facing accusations at a Canadian hearing that it undermined union leaders trying to protect workers at an Alberta beef plant during one of the industry’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 is making its case as hearings continue this week with the Alberta Labour Relations Board, days after a police investigation into a Covid-19 death of a plant employee last May brought renewed attention to Cargill’s actions during last year’s outbreak at its High River facility. Hearings with the provincial agency started in the middle of last year.