Richardson Canola Plant Workers Reject Contract Offer

Dec 28, 2021

Workers at the Richardson canola processing plant in Lethbridge have rejected the company’s latest contract offer and are now seeking mediation.

A statement this week from United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, which represents about 140 plant employees, said workers rejected the proposed pact by a vote of 79%, with the union bargaining committee now preparing its next steps – the first of which is applying for mediation. Furthermore, the union said it is looking to return to the bargaining table to see if the company will improve its offer.

“Like a decisive strike vote, a rejected ratification vote often inspires employers to look more seriously into their profits,” the union said. “No matter how they rationalize it, they know a strike will cost them money.”

Workers voted on what was described as the company’s ‘best and final offer’ – which included improvements to wages, benefits and pension -on Dec. 16 -17.

A strike vote has not yet taken place.

Richardson’s Lethbridge plant has the capacity to process up to 700,000 tonnes of canola per year, following a $120 million expansion in 2017.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.