Hormel Foods Corp. and the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 have reached a tentative contract agreement for some 1,700 workers at the company’s Austin, Minn., plant, that was expected to be voted on by the union members today, according to local news reports and an announcement published by UFCW.
The UFCW statement says the union unanimously recommends the agreement, and Hormel told local news outlets it was pleased to have reached the four-year tentative agreement with the workers and hopeful that the contract would be ratified this week.
The union had rejected a contract proposal set forth in mid- to late September, but a strike was averted when both sides agreed to extend the prior contract expiration to Oct. 8. The contract would cover Hormel’s Austin plant as well as plants in Beloit, Wis., Algona, Iowa, and Atlanta, who all participated in the bargaining process.
