Thousands of workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley plan to go on strike March 16 amid stalled contract negotiations and accusations that the company is committing unfair labor practices.
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7, the union representing 3,800 JBS laborers, announced Monday that its bargaining committee has met more than two dozen times with the company, but has been unable to reach a contract.
Recent talks have led nowhere, union officials said in a news release, sending workers a “clear message that the company is putting profits ahead of its people.”
“JBS workers absolutely deserve wage increases that keep pace with inflation, that support their health, that protect their retirement, and that allow the workers to work with dignity and respect,” the union said.
Representatives of JBS could not immediately be reached for comment Monday, but the company last month said it had been negotiating in good faith, offering “meaningful wage increases” and a pension plan.
Ninety-nine percent of unionized members voted last month to authorize the strike.
Local 7 officials allege JBS has threatened to withhold a proposed bonus and pension payment if workers strike, and has retaliated against workers standing up for their rights. The meatpacking giant has proposed wage increases of less than 2% per year on average — not nearly enough to keep up with rising costs, the union says.
“The goal of negotiations is never to go on strike, but when the company violates workers’ rights and ignores workers’ concerns about safety and health, the company give(s) workers no choice but to stand together in solidarity and show the company that they cannot be silenced,” UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said in the news release.
Workers told The Denver Post last month that they frequently get injured on the job and do not receive adequate medical care from the on-site clinic.
Line speeds on the assembly floor are so fast, they said, that it’s impossible to do their work in a way that’s safe and healthy.
JBS USA, headquartered in Greeley, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., the world’s largest processor of beef and pork, with more than $50 billion in annual sales.
The company operates nine U.S. facilities, selling beef products to more than 44 countries on six continents. It employs more than 37,000 people at these plants, including nearly 4,000 workers at the Greeley location.
The meatpacking giant has also been in the crosshairs of U.S. regulators for years, along with myriad allegations from its employees over poor or unsafe working conditions.
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