JBS targets its Haitian workers in Greeley with grueling work conditions, employee alleges in EEOC complaint
The meat comes at an alarming speed.
Workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley stand along a production line, responsible for trimming fat from beef as it moves along the line.
When the meat arrives in front of them, workers — many of them from Haiti — hook it with one hand and slice it with a knife held in their other hand.
But the meat comes at such a rapid pace — some 430 head of cattle per hour — they can barely keep up. Some cut themselves with their knives while trying to trim fat. Others clutch the hooks for so many hours that they can’t even open their fingers, permanently stuck in a claw-like position. Bathroom breaks are rarely allowed.
“We’re just asking to be treated like a human being,” one Haitian worker said, speaking to The Denver Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job at JBS.
The employee described that workplace environment in a charge filed Friday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging JBS — the world’s largest meatpacking company — intentionally discriminates against Haitian workers by subjecting them to poor working conditions...
JBS representatives did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment...
Since Haitian workers arrived at the Greeley facility, JBS has accelerated the so-called “chain speeds” on the production line, the worker’s EEOC charge alleges. The 430 head of cattle per hour mark a substantial uptick from historical chain speeds and that of the “A shift,” when speeds are often around 250 to 300 head of cattle per hour, the charge states...
JBS also limits workers’ bathroom breaks, rarely permitting Haitian laborers to leave production lines, the worker said. One worker even urinated in her pants on the production line while processing meat because her supervisor wouldn’t let her go to the restroom, the charge alleges.
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