UFCW 247 members employed at Grimm's Fine Foods have overwhelmingly ratified an extension to their collective agreement by 92% at a meeting held Sunday June 5th. The extension was proposed by the Company in connection to their announcement that they would not be able to renew the lease on their current location and were looking at building a new facility. The question was would any new facility be in the lower mainland or would the work be sent to other Company plants in Saskatchewan? The Company approached the members with proposals including a seven year extension. While many of the original proposals would have seen significant concessions for existing employees, two weeks of negotiations resulted in an agreement that only contains minor changes for current employees with lump sums and wage increases over the next seven years. "It was a difficult situation for our committee," commented Local 247 Secretary Treasurer Dan Goodman who chaired the Unions team. "They had to balance the proposals of the Company against ensuring the facility remain here in B.C., keeping 170 fellow members employed. I thought they did an excellent job and should be commended".