Members Win Line Speed Safety Improvements Amid Federal Deregulation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2025
Worthington–This week, union members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 at JBS Worthington voted to ratify a new union contract, winning key improvements in safety, attendance policy, retirement security, and wages.
A key victory includes line speed safety protections. The contract includes joint union-employer training for stewards and representatives to accurately time and monitor the production line. These measures empower workers to ensure that line speeds remain within safe limits.
“Having all union stewards receive line speed training is very important,” said Brenda Quijano, bargaining committee member and worker in the day kill department, “When we can regulate the line speed, it means fewer injuries for us–especially given the four years ahead with Trump weakening our line speed protections. We’ve improved our own ability to protect ourselves.”
In April, workers held a march outside the JBS plant to call attention to ongoing health and safety concerns and to protest the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s permanent line speed deregulation for pork processing.
The new contract also includes:
- A $1.20 per hour wage increase over the life of the three-year agreement.
- Improvements to the attendance policy, giving workers greater flexibility for family responsibilities.
- Retirement security through a choice between maintaining the current 401(k) plan or enrolling in a Variable Annuity Pension Plan.
“The change in the attendance policy gives me more breathing room and makes me less anxious that I will lose my job for taking care of my family,” said Nyawargak Jack, who works in the day picnic department. “I am a hard worker and a mother of five. Flexibility is necessary. When we stand together, we win—our health, our safety, and our dignity.”
“We won the right for each worker to choose their retirement plan,” added Brenda Quijano. “Many people want to keep their 401(k), and others prefer the stability of a pension. That choice should be ours—and now it is.”
UFCW Local 663 President Rena Wong praised the members for their unity and commitment:
“At JBS, UFCW Local 663 members have won stronger protections and better working conditions. We know that when jobs are safe and respectful, they become good jobs—jobs that support families and strengthen our communities. Our union contract reflects what we believe in and what we fight for together. UFCW meatpacking workers at JBS are standing up for each other, and we welcome any worker who wants to join us in building a better life.”
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UFCW Local 663 represents more than 14,000 hard-working essential retail, meat packing and processing, food preparation and manufacturing, healthcare, and other workers in Minnesota. We strive to improve the lives of our members and of all working families by fighting for economic, political, and social justice in our workplaces and communities. UFCW Local 663 is part of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Contract: Jessica Hayssen, jessicah@ufcw663.org, 651-261-8559