millwright

maintenance mechanic

machine operator

teneur de livres

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Erie-Meats

Erie meats is just a place to work until you find the next job. 

I come from another VERY well known meat processing plant that recently closed its doors in Kitchener and have very good understanding of food safety and proper sanitation, and let me tell ya...this Erie meats place is gross!! I worked 5 shifts at Erie meats (during my 3rd shift I decided I couldn't work there any more than I had to).

 In a matter of five days I couldn't believe the amount of food safety issues, i worked in the deli meats cooler which operated the blast chillers, and backside of the smokehouses. My first day my trainer dropped about 20lbs of cooked sausages on the floor and put it back on the rack, only to watch it fall off and do it all over again...he dropped it on the floor TWICE!! And it still went to the line for packaging!!  

I seen another person remove a cooked chicken breast from a rack to take its temperature only to have it slip from his hand and fall into a puddle of dirty raw meat infested water about an inch and a half deep, he picked it up placed it back on the rack (on an upper shelf so it could drip all over previously uncontaminated meat) and continued taking the temperature.

A SUPERVISOR called us demanding empty racks because he had no racks to cook his meat on, so we sent him as many of the used and dirty roast beef racks we had through the rack washing room only to discover later that night that he neglected to wash, clean and sanitize the racks before filling them back up with raw chicken to be sent through the smokehouse, that's right, he cross contaminated chicken and beef in such a way that the chicken is ruined for some cultures.

On my 4th day I opened a smokehouse filled with kielbasa and seen that about 4 feet of this 10 foot sausage fell on to the floor during the cooking process. Because of my previous training I cut the bad meat off the rack and threw it away only to be told not to do that and next time put it back on the rack. 

I asked one of the QA Employees if they do swab tests for listeria and such bacteria on a daily basis only to find out that the answer is no. They swab the raw side daily, but the RTE (ready to eat) side is only done once a week...I worked there for 5 shifts and never once seen a swab test done, and i started on a Wednesday, so I was there at the beginning and end of the week.

I've seen so many people not sanitizing their hands after touching face, hair etc. People wiping their nose on their gloves, coughing into their hands and going right back to packaging your lunch meat, not changing their gear when switching from one allergen product to another, never wiping down their line, sitting on the line and lifting their feet over top of product to get to the other side of the line, the use of cellphones, tankage (dirty/unedible meat) buckets touching clean tubs, the tankage and garbage person putting their hands and body all over the lines after picking things off the floor and handling garbage. Flies everywhere in the cafeteria and in the plant itself. The list goes on and on.

EVERYONE, aside from a few higher up's work as temporary employees through agencies. There are no benefits, terrible pay, no incentives to love or respect your job at all.

The shifts are 8 or 10 hour shifts (depending what agency you're with) plus travel time, for myself I worked 8hr shifts, i left my house at 1:30pm and arrived back home at 1:50am every night (and I'm only a 10 min walk away from the pickup/drop off point).

The work is easy for the most part, as long as you can handle a bit of cold.

They do have a pretty bomb hot cafeteria, but be careful because they do use the meat supplied by the company.

Hi,
I worked a couple of afternoon shifts at Erie Meats and found out somethings while working there. First the agencies and office are pretty good and easy going but the management could be better, the hours are long if you have to bus it or do 12 hour shifts. There are currently no benefits and you need to be management or higher to get hired. Everyone there otherwise even payroll is through an agency. Most people are friendly but there are a few key people their that are not. I ran into a bit of an issue with the back side of the packagings department since I'm a bit older and can't hear so well in a cold, noisy room which would help when your being trained on the job and can't hear the person training you. I found it a bit frustrating and demeaning to be trained by 20 year old little girl who knows very well what she is doing but is not a people person, not a trainer but given the role as one do to experience, lacks in any kind of understanding or patience and is a bit of a bully. I saw the hotdogs all over the floor as well in the hotdog room. This is just yet another company that doesn't care enough about it's people regardless of who you are or any disability you may have.

Erie Meats Listowel has a work culture that is highly production-driven, emphasizing speed, consistency, and teamwork. The environment is fast-paced, which helps employees develop discipline and strong time-management skills. Teamwork is essential on the line, and most coworkers are supportive and willing to help new employees learn their tasks. The company values reliability, so punctuality and attendance are taken seriously. For those who are hardworking and adaptable, the culture can feel motivating and goal-oriented.

Management is approachable and visible on the production floor, which makes communication more direct and timely. Issues related to safety, quality, or equipment performance are usually handled quickly. Supervisors give instructions clearly and encourage continuous improvement, especially around food safety standards. There are structured processes and SOPs that help guide daily work. Although the focus on output can sometimes create pressure, management does recognize and reward dedicated efforts. Overall, the mix of hands-on leadership and team cooperation creates a structured yet supportive atmosphere for employees.

I enjoyed working at Erie Meats, I worked extremelly well with my coworkers and fellow Managers. We worked together as a team.  However the hours in my case were extemelly long as I worked 3PM until 2AM or later and I also lived 45 minutes away, so I did not get home until 3-4 AM. My family and home was suffering from my absence.
Also due to company cutbacks, I did not agree with what was asked of me and I could no longer sign my name to the blends of meat we produced for moral and personal reasons. The plant manager is also very rude and very demeaning.  
I maintain a healthy relationship still, with all my past fellow workers and miss them and my job, however being home in the evenings and being able to be there for my family, whether to be cooking meals, helping with homework and driving to hockey games has brought my family back together, I know longer feel the pressure of being forced to do things that I morally do not think is right.

Erie Meats is an example of a company that lifts people by having comfortable ameraties such as an excellent cafeteria with big inexpensive delicious meals and a company policy of 'no harassment'.
It's up to the workers to make it enjoyable & they mostly do. It's a hard working environment. I was there only a short time for two reasons: arthritis and threats. I was threatened quick but bad threats a half dozen times, such as "I hate you, boom" and one guy elbowed me in the back as I stood up from a crouch working on a box. It seemed deliberate & uncalled for.
  As for sanitary, I was in packaging & we had white coats, triple gloves & hair nets and that was just to handle the sealed plastic packages so forget the liars, it's very very strict and people keep to it.
    It was very multicultural which I enjoyed but it would be way way way better to have a friend that works there for moral support.

I see a lot of moaning about Erie Meats, some of it may be justified but most of it isn't.  It's a food manufacturing facility, it's cold and damp, the pay isn't great, and there's no job security since you're hired through AES. 

I've seen hundreds of people come and go in my time there. Yet the ones that were let go and I'd say 95% of them were justified.  

Come to work, do your job, and stop complaining about how the world is so unfair.  There's a reason some people are in certain positions and you aren't and it usually boils down to they proved their abilities and did the job effectively and had proven they were capable of more. 

Yes, there is nothing glamourous about working at Erie Meats.  But it pays the bills, it's been completely revamped and invested on the inside and out from its former glory of being Campbell Soups so that should be enough proof that it isn't going anywhere.   

There was this day I was attending to an angry customer who has made up her mind to drop the company's product and services offered, where I worked for in time past.
She was yelling, abusing and furious with everyone and the company. 
I approached her respectfully, shared my experience how I was disappointed like her in time past and what I did.

At that stage, she was calm, listened to me, resolved the issue and changed her mindset about the product and services. 

After a while, she came back and said that what I advised her to do worked and she is enjoying the product and service rendered by the company now. 

I was happy, my supervisor and colleagues were all happy as well.

l worked at this place for about 6 months before realizing that it is a go no where place. worked in raw chicken dept..so people all know places like Walmart sell there product///such as chicken breast listed under the great value .meat falls on dirty floor/put back in the hopper un cleaned  so it can be packaged and sold. hotdogs same thing . l wonder how it can stay running when all rules are broken.  the pays sucks...hours are to be 8 and sometimes are like 6 hours then go home. management are very rude and not trained as supervisors at all except for one super that l found good. you will never get hired on full time as 98% of this place is agency .l can keep going but hey need more room.

Worked with this company for 7.5 months, which, during this time I found the entire management team incapable of communication, hence, the general moral of 25 or so actual office staff is extremely negative.  The Food service sales department seems to be the only people who actually can smile, joke and be happy, but that is most likely due to the fact that they are not in the office as much.  The owner swears and yells at the top of his lungs as though everyone on the STREET was deaf or wearing hearing aids!  HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE ATMOSPHERE.  I can go on and on.......

It's a typical meat plant, fast paced operations and requires you to be on your toes. The management has done well in the past few months in organizing and managing people and focus has been on good quality products. Like any place, some supervisors and co-workers are hard to deal with, rest all are very good. Place is always busy and you get your 44 hours every week plus overtime depending where you work. If you are ready to work hard, there is definite potential to advance. Overall I like the place, decent money, great food in the cafeteria and scope to grow.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Millwright 4 salaries reported	$44.12 per hour
Maintenance mechanic 4 salaries reported	$31.46 per hour
Machine operator 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Teneur de livres 2 salaries reported	$29.55 per hour
Payroll assistant 2 salaries reported	$42,500 per year

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