GREELEY — Some workers among the thousands striking at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley on Monday said they were doing so because they’re routinely exposed to on-the-job risk, including being forced to use dull knives that increase the odds of the blade slipping and cutting them, and wearing clothing on the line with holes in the protective steel mesh.
But “many” JBS employees chose to go to work instead of striking, said Nikki Richardson, a company spokesperson, because “they want stability, they want to support their families,” even as the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union “denied them the opportunity” to vote on an “historic offer” of better pay and benefits. JBS did not say how many workers showed up to the two shifts the beef processor runs each day.
The JBS plant in Greeley employs 3,800 people and in early February, 99% of them authorized the union to strike. The strike on Monday started at 5:30 a.m. and around an hour later, 800 UFCW Local 7 members had checked in to join the picket line, according to union officials…