Last week, Local 401 of the United Food and Commercial Workers published an update regarding contract negotiations for distillery workers in Lethbridge.
The workers are employed by the Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distilling at a distilling facility in the city’s industrial park. The facility had been previously owned by Black Velvet, but Heaven Hill purchased it in 2019.
The previous collective agreement for these workers expired this past June.
When that agreement was ratified in October 2021, it covered workers at the company’s distilling and bottling operations in Lethbridge, which numbered 40 at the time.
However, the American company shut down the bottling operations last year, forcing more than a dozen workers into unemployment, so the number of workers who will be affected by the bargaining update is likely below 30, its lowest level since at least 2006.
According to Local 401, the bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with Heaven Hill. They held an information with workers earlier this week, and voting on whether to ratify will begin later this month.
In-person voting will occur on the 26th, followed by online voting the next day.
The proposed agreement is for 5 years, which would be the longest agreement these workers have seen since 2006. Their previous agreement lasted 4 years.
If they ratify it, workers can expect to see a 3% wage increase in every year of the contract. This works out to 15% over the life of the contract, or 15.93% if you account for compounded increases.
This is better than what they got in their last contract, which was 3 years of 2.25% increases followed by 2.5% in the final year, for a combined 9.25% and an annual average increase of 2.31%.
Keep in mind, that inflation during the last contract increased by 16.83%, which left the workers with a cut to real wages of 7.58% when the workers received their final raise in June 2024.
That means if they ratify this new agreement, their real wage loss from the last contract will eat up half of their 15% (15.93%) combined increase, leaving them with just 7.42% (8.35%) to cover inflation over the life of this new agreement.
Keep in mind that inflation between their last increase and the start of this proposed contract alone was 1.71%. This gives these workers 5.71% (6.64%) to cover the next 4 years of inflation. If inflation stays below 2%, they might end up breaking even or perhaps slightly ahead.
That being said, some workers will also receive an additional $1 raise at ratification. They apply to all those in classifications 5, 6, 7, and 8. In the last collective agreement, this included the positions of blender, plant relief, distribution coordinator, distillery receiver, automatic dumping & filling operator, and materials handling.
Severance pay would increase from 1.5 weeks for each year of service to 2 weeks per service year.
Call-in pay has been increased from the regular overtime rate of 1.5 times the regular pay rate to double the regular pay rate.
The tentative agreement removes the 8-hour cap on holiday pay, which means workers would “receive pay equal to the amount of their regularly scheduled shift”.
Boot allowance wpould increase from $280 to $300 upon ratification. It will increase by $20 every year, finishing at $380 in 2029.
Union orientation for new workers would increase from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.
Under the previous collective agreement, any workers in classifications 3 through 9 would be paid $7 an hour less than the contract rate for the first 6 months of employment, increasing by $1 per hour every 6 months until reaching the contract rate. That would be removed if the new agreement is ratified.
Workers enrolled with the International Brewers and Distillers programme will receive a pay premium of $1 per hour after they complete their first module, $2 per hour after completing the second module, and $3 per hour after the final module.
Shift premiums would increase.
| Previous | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon | $1.40 | $2.00 |
| Night | $1.70 | $2.50 |
| 12-hour night | $2.00 | $2.50 |
Life insurance maximum would increase from $80,000 to $350,000. However, it would reduce to $50,000 once a worker reaches 70 years old, if they are still working with the company.
Accidental death and dismemberment would increase from $62,000 to $100,000. Again, it drops to $50,000 for workers who are 70 years old.
Short term disability would increase from 70% per week to 80% per week, and the maximum would increase from $1,200 to $1,700.
The supplementary health care deductible would decrease from $75 per person to just $25 per person, and the maximum per family would decrease from $150 to $75.
Vision care would also increase:
| Previous | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Laser eye surgery | $1000 | $2000 |
| Prescription glasses | $340 | $500 |
| Safety glasses | $330 | $500 |
| Eye exams | $110 | $160 |
Prescription coverage would increase from 90% to 100%, eliminating copays for workers. The deductible has also disappeared in the new agreement.
Orthodontic coverage would increase from 50% to 60%, and the maximum lifetime coverage would jump by 50%, from $2000 to $3000.
The defined benefit pension plan would increase $1 per month per year of service for each year of the agreement.
Workers with a defined contribution pension would see it increased to 7% contributions, which is matched by the company and is now based on gross earnings rather than regular earnings.
Early retirement calculation would be reduced by 4 years. Previously, it was 62 with 22 years of service, and now it is 60 with 20 years of service.
If workers ratify their collective agreement, they would see their health spending account quintuple, jumping from $500 per year to $2,500 per year.
Update (28 November 2025): The workers ratified the agreement to do with a 92% vote in favour.
