United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 members have returned to work at JBS USA’s Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colo., after the company agreed to return to the negotiating table. However, a contract settlement has not been reached.
The union, which represents 3,800 workers at the plant, began the strike on March 16 demanding higher wages and safer working conditions. They claim “the plant has been almost completely idle with only a miniscule fraction of production occurring at quality levels far below that which skilled union workers can produce.”
In addition to asking for more pay, the union says JBS has been reducing hours and creating unsafe working conditions – primarily through the increased production line speed, from 390 animals to process per hour to 420. A union news release claims JBS has been charging workers $1,100 or more to offset the company's expenses for safety equipment or protective gear.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.