Winnipeg’s Maple Leaf plant workers say employer not taking negotiations seriously
Posted November 20, 2025 1:29 pm.
Last Updated November 20, 2025 9:51 pm.
Nearly 1,900 workers at Winnipeg’s Maple Leaf plant are ready to hit the picket lines after the unionized members voted overwhelmingly to confirm a strike mandate.
Union leadership says it feels Maple Leaf is not taking the process seriously.
“Companies as large as Maple Leaf tend to forget that the hourly people, working on those lines, are the people who actually make their profits profitable,” said Jeff Traeger, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) Local 832.
“At the bargaining table we have been faced with responses from the employer that don’t address the priorities of those workers.”
Negotiations with Maple Leaf Consumer Foods Inc. have been ongoing since April.
With employees facing long hours on a production line in cold, high-pressure conditions, Traeger says pensions, working conditions and most importantly wages are some of the main points being discussed around the table.
“It’s not an easy job at all,” Traeger said.
The local union presidents adds current rates aren’t standing up to what he calls an “affordability crisis.”
“It’s no longer a job where one income can run a family household,” he said.
Maple Leaf, which reported total company growth profit of $220.4 million in the third quarter of 2025, said in a statement it’s participating in the process seriously.
“Maple Leaf Foods continues to negotiate with Local 832 to try to arrive at a fair agreement,” the statement reads. “We respect the collective bargaining process, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith.”
But Traeger says if the employer doesn’t come to the table with what is thought to be a fair proposal, union members – while wanting to work – are ready to take job action.
He adds if workers don’t feel respected by their employer, it creates difficulty retaining and recruiting employees.
“These folks aren’t looking to get rich working at Maple Leaf,” he said. “They’re looking to raise a family and have the ability to retire with dignity and respect.”
The workers’ current contract expires Dec. 31.
