In less than a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk, chatter in fifty-seven languages overlaps with the sound of dancehall, bachata, Thai pop, Haitian kompa, and Micronesian hip-hop. At sunset, dozens gather for iftar, breaking their Ramadan fast; the music, pulsing from boom boxes and cell phones held up to megaphones, swells into one shared hum.
In this sliver of land across from the sprawling JBS beef processing plant — among the largest in the country — workers from around the world have united in the largest US meatpacking strike in forty years.
The 3,800 workers at the JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, walked off the job on Monday, March 16, launching an unfair labor practice strike.
This is the company’s flagship beef plant in the United States. Its previous contract with Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW) Local 7 expired last July.
Strikers say JBS has been increasing the speed of the production line while cutting work hours from forty a week to thirty-five, squeezing out more work for less money. A thousand Haitian workers at the Greeley plant have filed a class action lawsuit against JBS for discriminatory practices that push them to work at dangerously fast line speeds.
Line speed is a major issue in the meatpacking industry. The UFCW recently spoke out against a new proposal from the US Department of Agriculture to remove federal limits on line speeds entirely.
“We’re demanding our rights, both in terms of wages and working conditions, because before the strike, they really took advantage of us,” said a worker in the brisket trim department, who spoke in Spanish and asked to remain anonymous. “They want the same output, but fewer hours and fewer people.”
After eighteen years working at JBS, he said, “Everything is so expensive. Everything has gone up, except our wages.”
Workers are also demanding that the company stop charging them out-of-pocket costs for personal protective equipment like mesh vests and…
Auteur: Caitlyn Clark
