More than 400 full-time workers at Highbury Canco are on strike

A final offer presented to workers at Highbury Canco in Leamington, Ont., has been rejected. 

Now, the 405 full-time workers represented by Local 175 of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) have begun a strike, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday.

"Our members make high-quality products that consumers purchase from grocery shelves nationwide," Shawn Haggerty, president of Local 175, said in a news release.

"Highbury Canco should be a leader in this sector and start prioritizing the well-being of its employees who deserve to make good competitive wages."

The previous contract for workers at the former Heinz plant, which processes tomato-based food and beverage products, expired at the end of 2022.

In November, Local 175 membership voted 99.9 per cent in favour of a strike. The two sides met on three separate occasions. The company's final offer came on Feb. 8.

"Seventy per cent of the workforce makes less than $19 an hour here," said chief union steward John Scott Jackson.

He says the employees need to be better compensated due to increased inflation and the fact they were deemed essential workers during the pandemic.

"We risked our lives every day for two years to come in under COVID conditions," said Jackson.

"Our members are looking for significant wage improvements which they more than deserve," said Sam Caetano, regional director at Local 175. "These workers held strong and worked hard throughout the difficulties of the last several years and they are taking a stand for better compensation and respect, and we have their backs."

Worker Delvin Maxwell said he would like to see an increase of $3 now and 50 cents every year for four years.

Company 'eager to resume business'

Sam Diab, president and chief executive officer of Highbury Canco, was surprised about the outcome after the increases were put on the table.

"We're certainly eager to resume business as usual," Diab said. "And most importantly, both the folks that are on strike and the folks that are here, is that making sure this is going to get reconciled and that things will move forward at some point."

He said there is a delicate balance they want to respect during this process.

"It's a small town, and everybody knows each other and everybody has respect for each other, and it's important that continues over the next however many days and weeks that entails," Diab said. "We have no meetings scheduled from a negotiations perspective, and frankly, I'm not expecting any in the near future."