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Workers at Greeley’s JBS meatpacking plant have voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike, according to a Wednesday morning announcement.
The strike stems from what union representation says is “illegal conduct at the bargaining table and inside the plant,” according to a press release from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents 22,000 union workers across Colorado and Wyoming, including those at JBS. Ninety-nine percent of unionized workers at the plant voted in favor of the strike.
The union did not give specifics on when the strike is expected to start, but told Denver7 it is expecting virtually all employees to take part in it, adding “workers are prepared to strike until JBS ceases unfair labor practices.”
“This vote reflects the seriousness of this moment,” Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, said. “JBS can either return to the bargaining table prepared to negotiate in good faith and immediately cease its Unfair Labor Practices, or it can face the consequences of its own decisions.”
The union alleges that over the course of an eight-month bargaining process, JBS intimidated and retaliated against workers and threatened to “withhold a proposed bonus and lump sum pension payment if workers exercise their democratic right to strike.”
Denver7 spoke with Matt Shechter, the union’s labor and employment litigator, who claims JBS is charging workers for lost or damaged personal protective equipment that is required by law.
He also claims there is a “wage theft problem” and JBS is endangering the lives of those who work at the plant by making “chain speeds” on the line of work faster while also cutting back on workers’ hours.
“The vote yesterday was an incredible act of democracy,” Shechter said. “Virtually all workers [at JBS] are immigrants and this is the first time many have ever voted in their entire lives.”
A JBS spokesperson said in an email that the company “presented a comprehensive offer that reflects the national agreement reached with UFCW International” that was accepted by other large JBS facilities in the country.
“This agreement includes meaningful wage increases and a pension plan, providing both near-term and long-term financial security for team members, in addition to other strong benefits,” JBS Spokesperson Nikki Richardson wrote in an email. “Workers at our other locations have already agreed to these terms and are benefiting from these improvements today.”
According to Shechter, those wage increases are $0.90 over the next two years, which he says represents a 4% increase and claims is below the rise in inflation.
Approximately 3,800 workers are employed at JBS in Greeley, according to the UFCW Local 7 release. The company is headquartered in Greeley and has operations in the U.S., Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Europe and New Zealand, according to the company’s website. JBS is the top producer in the world of beef and chicken, according to the company website, and is the largest employer in Weld County, according to the Northern Colorado Economic Alliance.
This is a developing story that will be updated. Denver7 has reached out to UFCW Local 7 and JBS for more information.
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