Packing and Processing
UFCW Packing and Processing Workers are Stronger Together! |
We are the 240,000 meatpacking and food processing members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. We are a union of meatpacking and food processing workers. We work the kill floors and processing sides of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken plants. We process meat in refrigerated plants making hams, bacon, and ground beef. UFCW members produce Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Campbell’s Soup, Tyson chicken fingers and even Crunch-n-Munch—everything from chicken and steaks to vegetables and snacks.  History shows that the more unionized meatpacking workers there are, and the more we stick together in solidarity—the more likely it is we can raise wages and conditions for ourselves—and across the packing, poultry, and food processing industries. Think about this—for those of us who work in a “Right to Work” state, our power at the bargaining table is measured by the number of union members in our plant. The fact is that workers in plants with more union members earn more money. For those of us who work in a union shop state, our power at the bargaining table is determined by how many plants in our area is union vs. non-union. Each time we go to negotiate our contract, our company points to the non-union plant down the road—or across the state line—as competition. If those plants were union, it would be a completely different story. For example, Tyson workers have a union in 25 plants—but workers in another 45 plants don’t have union representation. Their employers—our employers—are working hard to keep it that way! Workers in those non-union plants don’t want to make less money, earn fewer benefits, or work in unsafe working conditions. But they do, because they don’t have a union. Some workers don’t have a union because their employer actively tries to keep the union out. Other workers haven’t tried to organize their plant because they simply don’t know the benefits. If unionized meatpacking workers came together to organize those plants, we could really build power at the bargaining table. We could raise wages and working conditions for food workers across the whole industry. Together, we can do what our predecessors once did. By uniting in unions we could:
If you work in the meatpacking, poultry or food processing industry and you’re wondering how to get involved in the fight for fairness, better wages and working conditions—there are several things you can do. Learn more by visiting Fairness for Food Workers. |
"What we all have in common is we all just want a fair wage, health care, and to be treated right. That's why we need to communicate with each other and stand together. I'm getting to meet some of the guys from the other plants. It's really important that we start talking and start working together." -Ryan Dodds,
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"We aren’t alone. We all have the same problems across all these meatpacking plants. I’d like to see better legislation for safety and health that makes companies more accountable. We are in a very dangerous industry. We are feeding the world! We deserve the best medical care." -Susan Abdulla, |
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"When there was an ammonia leak and we had to stop working the supervisor got really mad and said that we had to get back to work. He was really angry and didn’t want to listen to anyone. The union spoke with management and the situation was corrected because the union makes sure that its members do not work in conditions that aren’t safe." |
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