JBS workers contract is a landmark in meatpacking

Winning major gains, like pensions, requires coordination. For the first time, UFCW convened a national bargaining table with bargaining committee members from across the country. Guest columnist

Mark Lauritsen is the director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division and International Vice President at UFCW International.

Lauritsen is a third-generation packinghouse worker who began his union career as a shop steward in the Wilson Foods meatpacking plant in Cherokee, Iowa.

Public support for unions is still at historic highs , and it’s no surprise when people see what workers at JBS plants across the country won in their new landmark union contract. The contract, ratified in May of this year, brings back pensions, a former industry standard that has fallen away sinc