AUSTIN, Minn. – Negotiators for Hormel Foods and a 1,700-member employee union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. Terms were not announced. Issues had included wages and pensions. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union said its negotiating team voted unanimously to recommend to its members to accept the tentative settlement. The agreement was reached 2-1/2 weeks after Hormel made what it called a final offer, to which union members responded with a strike authorization. Negotiations then resumed. The tentative agreement goes to a union ratification vote on Monday, The union represents Hormel employees in Austin and in Atlanta, Georgia; Beloit Wisconsin; and Algona, Iowa.
