(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) - America’s largest Private Sector Union representing 1.2 million Workers in meatpacking, food processing, grocery, retail and other essential industries across North America, has announced the ratification of a first-ever national contract that will bring significant wage increases, a newly-created Paid Sick Leave Program, and with the support of JBS, the establishment of a Pension Retirement Plan for 26,000 JBS Workers employed at 14 facilities across the country, among other contract gains.  

The contract includes significant wage increases for UFCW Members, including retroactive pay and a ratification bonus.

With the average weighted compensation for Meatpacking Workers being $23 to$24 an hour, this will bring even more financial security for these essential Workers, the UFCW said. 

Mark Lauritsen, the Director of the UFCW’s Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division and International Vice President at UFCW International, released the following statement: “We applaud UFCW Members for ratifying this historic contract. Through the collaboration of our Local Bargaining Committees and the commitment of JBS to providing industry-leading benefits and protections, after nearly forty years, JBS Workers will have a Pension Retirement Plan, giving them a path to a secure financial future. Every employer in the Meatpacking Industry should follow JBS’s leadership and reintroduce Pension Plans for the hard-working Men and Women who keep America fed. This contract also establishes new Ergonomic Safety Measures to reduce workplace injury and fatigue, allows for dedicated walking Stewards, and strengthens Safety Committees to ensure that Workers are consistently protected across JBS facilities. In addition to major wins on pensions and workplace safety, UFCW Members secured the first-ever paid Sick Leave Program at JBS, along with retroactive wage increases, and improved vacation and paid leave. (The) contract ratification means better wages, safer working conditions and a more stable future for Workers in this industry. A new standard has just been set in meatpacking.”

The contract will cover 26,000 Workers employed at JBS Regional Beef, Fed Beef and Pork Processing Facilities in: Hyrum Utah; Tolleson, Arizona; Grand Island, Nebraska; Omaha, Nebraska; Beardstown, Illinois; Cactus, Texas; Worthington, Minnesota; Plainwell, Michigan; Lenoir, North Carolina; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Souderton, Pennsylvania; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Ottumwa, Iowa.

Workers at these facilities are represented by UFCW Locals 99, 222IN, 431, 540, 663, 951, 1208, 1473, 1776KS, and 1846 - respectively, whose Bargaining Committees came together to create the largest nationally coordinated bargaining effort for Meatpacking Workers in UFCW History, Union Officials said. 

For More On This Labor News Story & Specifics Of The New Contract, Go To: UFCW Announces Historic Contract Ratification for JBS Meatpacking Workers  - The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union | The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union