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Packing and Processing Union

Bottom JBS Swift Worker Top

JBS Swift Worker

UFCW Local 1155

Caret 43%

Union members pay about 43% less for family healthcare coverage than nonunion workers.

60-70%

Of beef consumed in the United States is processed in meatpacking plants by UFCW members.

Caret 15%

On average, members of unionized packing and processing plants make 15% more than their nonunion counterparts.

UFCW meat packing and food processing members work to feed America and beyond.

Whether it’s Campbell’s soup, Welch’s jelly, Kraft mac and cheese, or Quaker Oats—it’s the hard work of UFCW members behind the scenes that helps put some of our nation’s favorite foods on the kitchen table.

UFCW members are highly trained professionals who serve as an extra layer of protection for consumers when it comes to food safety.

Half of UFCW’s food processing members work for the top ten food processing employers, including JBS USA, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, Cargill Inc., Continental Grain Co. (Wayne Farms), Hormel Foods Corp., Marfrig SA (Keystone), Foster Poultry Farms, National Beef Packing, and ConAgra Foods.

Ensuring safe workplaces for workers in the food processing and meat packing industries.

The food processing industry is a high hazard industry due to interactions with animals and heavy machinery. Line speeds and other factors also play a role and workplace safety is a key concern.

Our members benefit from joining the UFCW because our union provides workplace safety protections, which gives workers the ability to speak out or stop the line without fear of retaliation or being fired when those protections are denied.

The UFCW works with employers to make sure workers have a seat at the table and a say regarding health and safety in the workplace.

UFCW contracts include health and safety language to protect workers, including safe working conditions, union access to perform worksite inspections and medical and exposure records, training, joint health and safety committees, chief, walking and ergonomic stewards that can accompany government inspectors during their paid time and lastly, provide protective equipment where appropriate.  Our contracts also include reimbursement for protective gear.

Many members also appreciate additional opportunities for career development through job-related trainings or participation in leadership opportunities, such as becoming a steward or serving on a safety committee.  

Start a Union at Your Packing / Processing Plant

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Hear from Our Members

What Our Union Contracts Secure

We negotiate our working conditions and benefits together with our employer, with the support of UFCW bargaining pros. Here are some highlights from contracts we’ve won for packers and processors across the country:

Higher Wages
We negotiate for raises that keep our wages high enough to take care of our families even in the face of the rising cost of living. 

Guaranteed Schedules
Our schedules give a clear path for us to full or part-time status based on our needs, plus the opportunity for daily and weekly hour limits to make work-life balance possible at our facilities. 

Seniority Over Favoritism
Get rewarded for experience, not whether your boss likes you or not. Our contracts make it so the years you put into your company give you access to higher pay scales, preferred jobs & schedules, and more. 

Respect and a Voice on the Job
Racism and other forms of discrimination & disrespect have no place in our union facilities. When a manager breaks the code of conduct set in our union contracts, we have the power to hold them accountable. 

Job Security
With our union, we can protect ourselves and each other from being fired or disciplined without good reason. With our grievance procedures guarding us, we get to focus on doing our best work, instead of worrying about we’ll have a job tomorrow. 

Health & Safety
We’ve also fought to secure transparency in injury and illness reporting by employers, and partnered with other unions to strengthen whistleblower protections and OSHA protections for workers who speak out about dangers on the job.

No one should have to fight for workplace protections alone. The UFCW has worked with OSHA to conduct targeted inspections in high hazard industries, including the poultry and meatpacking industries. 

And as one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, meat packing workers were able to rely on the protection their union contracts provide. 




Ready to start a union at your facility?

Ready to negotiate together for bigger paychecks, stronger benefits and better lives? If you are, the steps to joining the UFCW are simple.




Issues facing packing and processing workers

How to get better wages and benefits

How to get better wages and benefits

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Making Workplaces Safer

Making Workplaces Safer

No one should be injured at work, that’s why the UFCW is a national leader in the fight for safer workplaces.

Keeping Jobs Safe from Automation and AI Technology

Keeping Jobs Safe from Automation and AI Technology

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Major UFCW-represented employers

Organize and unionize your workplace

Are you and your coworkers ready to negotiate together for bigger paychecks, stronger benefits and better lives? If you are, the steps to joining the UFCW are simple.

How to Start a Union
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