Workers and Community Members Speak Out About JBS’ Abusive Treatment

What:

Workers and community members will speak out about abusive treatment JBS is inflicting on the community. From consumers to workers to ranchers, JBS has put the squeeze on families across Colorado. Workers will discuss unfair labor practices and JBS’s proposals at the bargaining table from poverty wages to forcing workers to pay for personal protective equipment. Consumers, ranchers, and community leaders will talk about the rising cost of meat, the squeeze farmers, ranchers, and other suppliers face when selling their products, and the influence of unrestrained corporate power on rising prices.

When:  

10:30 AM Mountain Time

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

 Where:

              Promontory Park

               1630 Promontory Circle

               Greeley, CO 80634

Who:

              Letecia Avalos – JBS Worker and Greeley, Colorado native

               Maribel Young – JBS Worker

               Carmen Garcia – JBS Worker

Mike Callicrate – Independent Cattle Rancher

Pastor Chris Gilmore – 6th Avenue United Church of Christ

Elizabeth Melendez – Latinos Unidos of Greeley

               Shannon Bird – Former Representative, Colorado House District 29

               Jessie Danielson – Senator, Colorado Senate District 22

               David Seligman – Executive Director, Towards Justice

Kim Cordova – President of UFCW Local 7

Background:

              JBS workers have been negotiating with the Company for nearly 9 months, fighting for a contract that gives them the respect and dignity they deserve. As the world’s largest protein producer, JBS has the resources to ensure workers have the safety equipment they deserve and the wages they need to withstand the rising cost of living. However, the Company has insisted on locking in poverty-level wage increases that are barely 1.5% on average each year and having workers subsidize the company’s equipment budget. As talks have dragged on, JBS has engaged in multiple unfair labor practices designed to undermine negotiations and intimidate workers, including placing conditions on proposed payments and disciplining workers who have spoken out. Most recently, JBS has engaged in a campaign of attempted intimidation against workers who voted by 99% to authorize an unfair labor practice strike. Workers commenced a two-week unfair labor practice strike on March 16, 2026, and will remain on strike for two weeks or until JBS resolves these unfair labor practices and negotiates fairly.