Union workers with UFCW Local 663 in Austin vote to ratify new contract with Hormel Foods

Union workers with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 in Austin have voted to ratify a new contract agreement with Hormel Foods.

UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement that union members who work at Hormel Foods locations in Austin, plus also at three other plants in Iowa, Wisconsin and Georgia voted this week to ratify a contract that includes the largest wage increase in the company’s history. In addition to gaining hourly wage increases of $3-$6 an hour, Perrone added that the new contract also nearly doubles bereavement leave, protects healthcare coverage, and increases both pension and 401k benefits. 

A tentative agreement was reached between the two sides last week, and further details were withheld until union members could be fully informed during membership-only meetings over the weekend.  

Union members voted in September to reject what was termed Hormel’s final offer, as the previous four-year contract approved in 2019 first expired on September 10th.  The two sides agreed to a contract extension until October 8th, and bargaining resumed the first week of this month.