JBS: Celebrating 20 Years Union Strong!
This month, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of an historic victory for workers in Brooks. Twenty years ago, workers at the Lakeside Packers plant officially became members of UFCW Local 401.
The decades-long drive to unionize this plant was a response to a wave of aggressive anti-worker policies in the Canadian meat-packing industry that began in the early 1980s. Local unions from across Canada took part in this effort, led by UFCW 401’s then-President Douglas O’Halloran (now deceased). Our current President
Thomas Hesse was then the Negotiator and a leading strategist for this campaign.
“As Union activists today, we stand on the shoulders of giants,” remarks Richelle Stewart, current Secretary-Treasurer of Local 401. “We thank the organizers whose work made this anniversary possible, and we celebrate key victories that have made our Union what it is today.”
The Lakeside Packers Strike that took place a year after unionizing saw some notorious union-busting from the plant’s then-owners. This included an infamous episode in which President O’Halloran was run off the road. We also saw the tragic deaths of two workers in a strike-related incident.
The strike was successful, landing the plant’s workers an historic deal that a majority of them would ratify.
“A key characteristic of the effort was the Union’s ability to connect with a broad variety of people from different places, speaking different languages,” recalls Hesse. “Their common bond was their shared experience of the back-breaking work of a packing house.”
UFCW 401 has represented the members at this plant, today under the management of JBS, through further battles including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we continue to stand strong with our members at JBS and workplaces across Alberta, resolved to fight and win on the issues that matter.
Thank you for joining us to celebrate 20 Years Union Strong at the JBS plant in Brooks!
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Posted on: August 30,2024