Posts Categorized: Poultry

On Sept. 3, the UFCW and Tyson Foods announced the first national U.S. agreement to provide paid sick leave to the company’s meatpacking workers as part of the union’s negotiations with the company over its new vaccine mandate. The UFCW represents 26,000 Tyson Foods workers across the country and is calling for similar paid sick leave policies from all companies across the meatpacking industry to ensure more frontline workers can get the vaccine without fear of losing a paycheck.

Under this new agreement, Tyson Foods workers will be able to earn up to 20 hours of paid sick leave. In addition, the Tyson Foods vaccine mandate will now provide precautions and safeguards for medical, religious, and other protections. Of the company’s 120,000 U.S. workers, more than 75 percent of Tyson Foods workers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 30,000 Tyson Foods workers have been vaccinated since the company announced its new vaccine mandate in early August.

“As the largest union for Tyson workers across the country, the UFCW’s first priority is to keep these brave men and women safe on the job as the COVID-19 Delta surge continues,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “Since the vaccines were first approved, the UFCW has played a leading role in helping to vaccinate many of its 1.3 million essential workers in meatpacking plants, grocery stores, and other frontline businesses.” 

“Today, the UFCW is pleased to join Tyson in announcing the first national agreement to provide paid sick leave to American meatpacking workers,” Perrone said. “Paid sick leave is critical to ensuring workers can get vaccinated without losing a paycheck. As part of this deal, the UFCW has ensured that Tyson’s vaccine mandate will be implemented fairly and protect the rights of workers by allowing for medical and religious exemptions where appropriate. Every company in America must follow Tyson’s lead and act now to guarantee paid leave to help even more of our country’s essential workers get vaccinated as soon as possible.” 

“Vaccine mandates, like all COVID workplace safety policies, must be negotiated with workers to build the trust and strong consensus needed for these safeguards to be effective,” Perrone added. “This historic agreement helps to ensure policies like paid leave are not just helping us increase vaccinations during the pandemic, but are also permanent improvements that strengthen these jobs and protect these workers for years to come.”

On July 21, over 400 poultry workers at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Waco, Texas, voted to join UFCW Local 540 by an overwhelming margin. As new members of UFCW Local 540, these hard-working men and women will soon form a bargaining committee to negotiate their first union contract to strengthen pay and benefits, as well as workplace safety protections, as COVID-19 cases surge across Texas.

UFCW Local 540’s campaign to unionize Pilgrim’s Pride poultry workers in Waco started in May with the help of staff from UFCW regional offices and locals. UFCW organizers met with workers at the plant during shift changes to help them learn about the union difference and passed out pamphlets in English and Spanish about the benefits of joining our union. Waco community members played a key role in the campaign and helped to pass out the pamphlets during shift changes. Citizenship clinics were a key part of the campaign, helping to introduce the UFCW to the Pilgrim’s Pride employees at the Waco plant and highlighting how our union can support local communities and help workers and their families obtain a better life.

“Texas poultry workers at this Waco Pilgrim’s Pride plant are sending a powerful message that workers have a stronger voice on the job when they stand together,” said UFCW Local 540 President Johnny Rodriguez. “These workers joined UFCW Local 540 because they are ready to stand up for the better pay, increased benefits, and improved working conditions that come with a strong union contract.”

“Essential workers in Texas and across the country in meatpacking plants have been on the front lines of the pandemic since day one, putting their health at risk to make sure our families can put food on the table during this health crisis,” Rodriguez added. “Pilgrim’s Pride respected the right of these workers to unionize and stayed neutral throughout this campaign. At a time when giant corporations like Amazon are spending millions of dollars to stop their workers from exercising their right to join a union, Pilgrim’s Pride did the right thing by staying neutral, setting a powerful example for other companies in Texas and nationwide. UFCW Local 540 looks forward to working with Pilgrim’s Pride on negotiating the first union contract for these Waco poultry workers as they stand together to strengthen these essential jobs.”