Booker and Colleagues Call on JBS to Negotiate Fair Contract as Colorado Meatpacking Strike Ends

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are urging JBS USA, the world's largest meat processor, to immediately negotiate a fair contract with striking members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 in Greeley, Colorado. In a letter to JBS leadership, the senators press the company to provide workers with a safe workplace and with fair and livable wages.

"JBS workers engage in incredibly difficult, dangerous jobs, but ones that are critical for feeding our country and driving your company's success. Federal health and safety laws mitigate those risks, but we understand workers in Greeley are forced to work in conditions that lead to high turnover, injury, and in some cases, death," the senators wrote. "It has been widely reported that many workers have been charged $1,100 or more to offset the company's costs for life-saving personal protective equipment (PPE)."

The senators highlighted that since 2020, JBS's U.S. operations have been cited for 184 health and safety violations and 40 employment-related offenses, including wage violations, discrimination, and child labor.

"Requiring workers to spend their hard-earned paychecks on equipment that employers are legally obligated to provide is wrong, and it puts both their financial security and their safety at risk," the senators continued.

The lawmakers also raised concerns about wages that have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living. JBS has reportedly offered workers a maximum raise of 90 cents per hour over three years, an increase that falls below inflation. Workers' take-home pay has been further eroded by rising health-care premiums, which have increased as much as 37% since 2021 under the company's standard plan.

"Without meaningful intervention, these practices will continue to undermine worker safety, financial stability, and basic standards of fairness," the senators concluded.

To read the full text of the letter, click here.

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