Workers allege abuse at JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley. “Who is supposed to benefit from better living conditions? Us or the cows we kill?

Workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, paint a picture of unsafe working conditions, unfair treatment, wage theft and a lack of reimbursement for workplace injuries.

Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, said it all started last fall when JBS began hiring asylum seekers and legal immigrants from Haiti and Benin.

“We have called everyone who can help these workers who are being exploited in what we believe to be significant human trafficking,” Cordova told CPR News.

Earlier this week, the UFCW called on local, state and federal authorities to investigate conditions at the plant. The union once again denounces a series of abusive practices on the site. These include claims that management engages in human trafficking through the social media app TikTok. They also accuse management of intimidating workers, inhumane living conditions and withholding employee mail, such as medical bills.

JBS USA Holdings did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The most recent allegations against the company were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the union, the latest alleged abuses began when JBS human resources manager Edmond Ebah, himself originally from Africa and a former trade unionist, began facilitating the recruitment of workers through TikTok. Once they secured a position at the factory through their visa, Ebah helped them transition to the United States, providing them with a free room for the first two weeks of their stay until so they can follow the orientation and start earning a salary.

However, once they arrived in Colorado, the image of a bright future in a beautiful city was not what was promised.

The workers say Ebah charged them up to $320 to pick them up from the airport and drop them off at the Rainbow Motel near the factory.

“Workers were reporting that if they didn’t want to pay these fees…they were being threatened,” Cordova said.

At the motel, conditions were unlivable, with up to eight people staying in rooms with just one bed. Later, many workers were moved to a house where up to 40 people lived at the same time. All were either factory workers or family members, including women and young children.

The workers who spoke to CPR News asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. They spoke through Cchelly Moise, a union representative who works at the Greely plant, who translated.

“When I arrived at work, I didn’t expect to find such poor living conditions,” said one worker. “We couldn’t do anything about it because we had no money and we didn’t know anything about the city.”

“What I hope is,” the worker said. “Social services – or whoever is in charge of this sort of thing – to ask JBS: ‘Who is supposed to benefit from better living conditions?’ Us or the cows we kill?’

Most of the workers, who do not speak English, say they have not been able to eat for days because of overcrowding and no place to cook. They also can’t shower, making the crowded house smell like a meat processing plant itself.

Additionally, workers say they are forced to work in extremely cold conditions and at speeds so high that many have said their hands are swollen.

“When I pull a piece of meat to work on it, there is already another one coming,” said a worker. “So because I work so fast, most of the time my hands swell and my hand hurts.”

The recommended speed for a line at a beef packing plant is 390 head of cattle per hour, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service. But union representative Dahir Omar says things are moving much faster.

“I have been a representative for 10 years. Never in my life have I seen line speeds like this. This year there were 430, 425, 420,” said Dahir Omar, another union representative.

“We really feel like they’re being taken advantage of,” Moise said.