As of Thursday morning, workers are still on strike at the massive JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley. Union leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 estimate that more than 3,000 employees are on the picket line.
Employees are seeking better pay, as is the case with most labor disputes, and JBS workers also want better safety standards. The union alleges that workers are forced to pay to replace their own safety equipment, and that it takes too long to replace things such as the steel mesh aprons that protect them from cutting themselves. The UFCW Local 7 also maintains that a national contract JBS ratified with the national UFCW at 14 facilities across the country last May doesn’t take into account the higher cost of living in Colorado.
Contract negotiations are fluid by design, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly where they stand before a deal is struck…