GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Over 26,000 meatpacking workers, including those at JBS plants in Grand Island and Omaha, are set to benefit from a new national labor contract ratified by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and meat processing giant JBS.
Announced May 22, the agreement marks the first-ever nationwide contract between the UFCW and JBS and includes sweeping reforms not seen in the industry for nearly four decades. Key provisions include substantial wage increases, retroactive pay, improved vacation and leave, a ratification bonus, and—most notably—the establishment of a Taft-Hartley pension plan, a first for the meatpacking industry since 1986.
The contract also introduces JBS’s first paid sick leave policy and mandates the creation of Safety and Ergonomic Committees at all 14 covered facilities, including those in Nebraska, Iowa, Arizona, Texas, and beyond. Each site will also have a designated “walking steward” on every shift to ensure enforcement of safety protocols and labor standards.
Grand Island JBS employee and UFCW Local 222IN member Ivan Luna Guerrero praised the deal, calling the sick leave provision “a standard” that had long been overdue in meatpacking.
UFCW International Vice President Mark Lauritsen said the agreement sets “a new standard” in the industry and encourages other employers to follow JBS’s lead in restoring pensions and improving workplace safety.
The contract was negotiated by a coalition of UFCW locals, creating what the union calls the largest nationally coordinated bargaining effort in the history of meatpacking labor in the United States.
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