Overview
- Roughly 3,000 employees at JBS’s Greeley, Colorado, slaughter plant have been on strike since Monday, with picketing organized in two daily shifts.
- Union representatives say the stoppage seeks stronger safety protections along with pay and benefits improvements, and could continue for two weeks without a new deal.
- UFCW Local 7 leaders allege JBS engaged in retaliation and other unfair labor practices during negotiations, including efforts to pressure workers to quit the union.
- JBS denies the allegations, saying it provides and replaces safety equipment at no cost for normal wear and allows bathroom breaks, and it plans to shift production to other facilities to reduce impact.
- Workers cite injuries, delayed replacement of protective gear and charges for lost equipment, while labor leaders say this is the first U.S. slaughterhouse strike since 1985.