Pano Cap members ratify wage, premium, and benefit improvements

UFCW Local 175 members at Pano Cap in Kitchener ratified a new three-year collective agreement at a vote held earlier in July.

Members at Pano Cap gained significant improvements with this ratified agreement including wage increases, better premiums, and enhanced benefit coverage. The Union Negotiating Committee also achieved an additional floater day for members with this new agreement.

The first year will bring a wage increase of 3.5%, followed by 3% in year two, and 2.75% in year three. Maintenance employees classified as Tech 3 and Lead Head receive an additional wage adjustment of $1 per hour as of August 1, 2026. Employees classified as Material Handler 1 will receive an additional adjustment of $0.25 per hour and Operator 2 will receive an additional adjustment of $0.15 per hour, both effective August 1, 2026. The Production Assistant classification will have three stages established providing a new start rate, and improvements in years one and three.

Shift premiums for the membership improved as follows:

• $1 per hour, up from $0.90, for Afternoons;
• $2 per hour, up from $1.68, for Nights, and;
• $4.50 per hour, up from $4, for the Supervisor Relief rate.

A new healthcare spending account of $250 per employee for single coverage and $600 per family coverage will also help put more money back in the pockets of our members at Pano Cap. Plus, the employer will now reimburse employees up to $100 every 60 months for custom fabricated ear plugs by a professional audiologist.

Members will see improved benefit coverage of $450, up from $400, for vision care, plus $350, up from $300, for prescription safety eyewear. The employer’s contributions to the members’ UFCW Dental Plan will increase by $0.01 per year of the collective agreement term.

In addition, the safety shoe allowance improves to $250, up from $200.

Union Negotiating Committee: Alex Frey, Jenny Her, Svetlana Petresin, and Union Representative Arlene Robertson.

Interested in reading about more negotiations in the industrial sector at UFCW 175? Click here.

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