Windsor Star- Inside the worker strike that has left Calgarians with a shortage of salt
The shortage is the result of a bitter workplace dispute in eastern Canada that’s entering its seventh month. In mid-February, 250 unionized workers at Windsor Salt, one of the largest salt producers and distributors in Canada, walked off the job after bargaining talks collapsed.
My local Superstore had no salt – finally picked up some at Safeway’s. I just thought that the store had run out of pickling salt and so customers were using table salt as a substitute.
Consumers have to be so on top of situations now. Do we have to start stockpiling salt?
20kg bag in storage
I got nuthin. The stupid is strong out there Luke.
“What’s unique about the dispute is the importance of the product, Gomez added, which is why he’d like a third party to step in and resolve the issue.”
Because there are no other suppliers of salt on the planet?
Is calgary populated with morons who can’t do a web search to find salt for their businesses?
I drove by that area many times in the early sixties.
There’s a monopoly alright but it isn’t salt. It’s about Unifor’s monopoly on labour.
It’s interesting to see “socialists” rail against monopolies, while ignoring their union supporters’ monopoly.
Unions should be outlawed.
There’s a Unionized Salt Monopoly
The Salt Mines collective. Sadly, the salt mine I labor in … has no UNION representation
Salt is hard to find on store shelves in NS, I was low on kosher salt and sent the hubby out to get some, I was prepping Salmon to brine to smoke. He found one box at Superstore, the other grocery stores hadn’t a box to be found. Now I know why.
I think the mine in Goderich is more road salt. Unifor is promising to strike all 3 domestic automakers. More business goes to right to work States. In Canada we have to bribe the companies to stay here
No, what’s under Goderich is the largest salt mine in the world. It’s about 1800 feet down under the surface of Lake Huron. Most of its salt is table salt, as the use of road salt has been declining annually since the development of various de-icing compounds in the 1960s. Since the mine started, it’s produced about 150 million tonnes of salt. It’s expected that the mine will continue operating for more than 100 years in the future. This mine produces about 12-14 million tonnes of salt annually. Most of it (99%) is exported to the United States.
Goderich is Sifto salt. Strike is Windsor salt. (brand names, different owners)
Puts salt on grocery list for Montana…
Softener salt has been short in Ontario since the start of the strike. Supplies of alternatives to Windsor have been sporadic. Which means people have been buying and hoarding when available. Not just Loblaws which is Unifor, but Home Depot and Lowes which as far as I know are non union. Not that Galen Weston and his minions would be influenced by the union at his stores.
Unifor
Say no more
canaduh is broken
Where’s Ghandi when you need him ?
Life Follows Salt dept.
Ghandi’s Salt March :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqQ6i9C07E8
In Italy salt and tobacco are also government monopolies.
As a Bluenoser I’d wondered what happened with that strike. I remember hearing that it started, then a while later that it was still ongoing, but then it vanished from news coverage. I assumed that meant it must have settled. Seems I was wrong.
It’s Calgary. Can’t they just belly up to a salt lick?
Ontario hates the west a Lot.
Sometimes. But that was pretty funny.
L – During a national salt crisis, we need Unity in Saskatchewan.
————————————————————————————————-
Located in the western part of Saskatchewan, the Unity plant is one of Compass Minerals’ four mechanical evaporation plants. During the 1940s, while oil exploration was underway, salt was discovered in the area and in 1948, the Unity plant was built with production beginning in 1949. In 1990, the Unity plant became part of the company that would eventually be known as Compass Minerals.
The plant produces and packages a wide variety of salt products including water conditioning salt, bulk salt, food-grade salt and salt for agriculture.
https://www.compassminerals.com/who-we-are/locations/unity-saskatchewan/
Windsor Salt shut down the table salt making facility at Lindbergh Alberta in the summer of 2022. What a coincidence that their other plant is shut down a few months later.
Thanks Ralph, that’s close to home!
I hauled the last 16 tonnes of salt out of the Lindbergh Windsor salt plant last week of July last year. They quit producing salt in the weeks leading up to the closure. The company I contract to had been hauling about 20 van loads a week out of there to a Calgary warehouse. Now we haul it out of the Windsor Salt plant at Belle Plaine. The Belle Plaine facility is non-union so they can rest a little easier but there have been some jobs eliminated there as well.
Strait up salt i have not used in decades,not because I’m adverse to it but just so many more additives taste so much better.
Not putting down salt,but i do wonder how much salt is used in my preferred additives?
Stone Canyon Industries owns that facility. They also own a whole lot more, including my normal salt company, Morton Salt, for everything I use at home in the US.
SCI Salt was created with the platform acquisition of Kissner Group Holdings LP (“Kissner”) in March 2020 and further expanded with the acquisition of K+S’ Operating Unit Americas segment (“Morton”) in April 2021,which includes the Morton Salt, Windsor Salt, and Lobos Salt brands in the United States, Canada, and South America, respectively. SCI Salt is now the largest salt producer in the world with annual production capacity of over 29 million tons supported by 24 salt production facilities, 15 processing plants, and 130storage locations across North America, South America, and the Caribbean. This footprint includes salt production facilities across evaporated, rock, and solar with processing plants in all major regions of North America.
SCI is trying to create a monopoly or oligopoly situation in North America?
https://www.scihinc.com/our-companies
Costco