UFCW Local 7 Members At Denver Processing Ratify 3-Year Contract With Substantial Gains, Ending Threat Of A Strike
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2022
Contact: Marcela Salazar | misalazar@ufcw7.com | 720-434-7550
Local 7 Members Vote To Ratify Contract That Guarantees Fair Pay and Respects Benefits of Essential Meat Processing Workers Who Help Supply the State’s Protein
DENVER – Today, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 (UFCW Local 7) union’s workers voted to ratify an industry-leading contract with Denver Processing, a pork and beef case-ready plant owned by JBS. This new three-year contract ensures that the 200 workers in this plant are respected and protected in the workplace and compensated with the fair wages they deserve as Essential Workers who help supply protein to our dinner tables.
The agreement contains the most significant wage increase ever secured by a UFCW local for workers at a case-ready plant, which refers to a central facility that processes and packages fresh meat that is delivered and ready to be put directly onto the meat cases in grocery stores and sold directly to customers. This specific plant, Denver Processing, supplies beef and pork to grocery stores throughout Colorado.
This industry-leading contract includes first-year wage increases for every new employee and increases of $4 to up to nearly $6 an hour for every employee. UFCW Local 7 also successfully negotiated to keep workers on their existing union healthcare plans and protected existing pension plans for its members, along with more stringent safety measures in the workplace. Other improvements to the contract ended invidious two-tier discrimination on vacations, doubled the night premium, and increased weekly guarantees for weekly minimum hours from 20 to 32.
Ratification comes just five days after the 200 Denver Processing workers voted to strike against the Company’s unfair labor practices.
Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7, issued the following statement on behalf of the Union:
“From the beginning of this process, we promised our members that we would procure the very best contract we could. We are excited that our members voted unanimously to ratify this industry-leading contract that will ensure that JBS respect, protect, and pay these Essential Workers who risked their health and lives during the pandemic to help feed our communities.
“We have been negotiating this contract for three months with JBS and are happy both parties finally came to an agreement. We want to thank the tireless bargaining committee and workers who showed up to have their voices heard and their demands met. This fight was always about them, and now they have a contract they deserve and can be proud of.
“This contract is proof of the power of unions and collective bargaining. When workers organize, they not only see wage increases and better working conditions for themselves, but it also benefits their families, communities, and our economy.”
The final details of the contract were made public to UFCW Local 7 Members, followed by a successful ratification vote today effectively solidifying the contract.
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Local 7, is the largest private-sector Union in Colorado and Wyoming. It is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union which represents over 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada, one of the largest private-sector Unions in North America. UFCW members work in a wide range of industries, including retail food, food processing, agriculture, retail sales, and health care.