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
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.
How UFCW is supporting workers in meat packing and food processing
UFCW: Federal Court Throws Out Dangerous Trump USDA Pork Line Speed Rule in Major Victory for Essential Meatpacking Workers
March 31, 2021
UFCW: As COVID Meatpacking Risks Continue, Congress Must Pass New Bill Mandating Safer Line Speeds to Protect Essential Workers Keeping Food Supply Secure
March 11, 2021
UFCW Expands Vaccine Access for 12,000 Meatpacking Workers Across the Country in New Partnerships with State Leaders and Top Industry Employers
March 5, 2021
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.
