It’s a case of sweet surrender. Rogers Sugar on Friday announced a tentative agreement with a union local representing 140 workers at its Vancouver sugar refinery who have been off the job since September.In a statement the company said the deal still needs to be ratified in a vote to be held next week. No details of the deal have been released but the union was demanding a sweeter deal, including higher wages and benefits while opposing the company’s decision to move to 24/7 operations at the plant amid demands for 12-hour shifts.Negotiations had been on hold since December..The strike had impacts across the country, causing intermittent shortage of brown sugar at Christmas. The Vancouver plant is only one of three in the country that processes imported cane sugar.The Roger’s refinery is one of Vancouver’s oldest industrial sites, dating back to the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.It was founded in 1890 by Benjaman Tingley Rogers, a Philadelphia native who came to Vancouver after gaining financial backing from CPR president William Van Horne and a land grant from the city government.
