JBS Greeley discriminates against Haitian workers, EEOC charge says

Meat is arriving at an alarming rate.

Workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley stand along a production line, tasked with cutting fat from beef as it moves down the line.

When the meat arrives in front of them, the workers, many of whom are from Haiti, grip it with one hand and slice it with a knife held in the other hand.

But the meat is arriving at such a rapid rate – about 430 head of cattle per hour – that they are struggling to keep up. Some people cut themselves with their knives while trying to lose fat. Others hold on to the hooks for so many hours that they can’t even open their fingers, stuck permanently in a claw-like position. Toilet breaks are rarely allowed.

“We’re just asking to be treated like a human being,” said one Haitian worker, speaking to the Denver Post on condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job at JBS.

The employee described that work environment in a complaint filed Friday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that JBS — the world’s largest meatpacking company — intentionally discriminates against workers Haitians by subjecting them to poor working conditions.

“What is being alleged here is a level of corporate greed and cruelty that we cannot allow,” said David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, a nonprofit legal aid organization, and a lawyer representing the worker in his claim with the EEOC.

“Last quarter, JBS reported profits of more than $300 million, and yet, in search of even more profits, it targets hundreds of Haitian workers, right here in Colorado, with grueling working conditions and scandalous, apparently because they are vulnerable and easy for JBS. to exploit,” he said. “This is prohibited by our fundamental employment discrimination laws.”

Representatives for JBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The worker arrived in Colorado in March 2024 after hearing about working at JBS from a friend. He paid a recruiter $320 for an application fee, two weeks’ stay at a Greeley motel and transportation from the airport.

The recruiter sent him to the Rainbow Motel in Greeley, where JBS had an agreement to house new workers. Conditions were “extremely bad,” the worker said. Five of them were supposed to share the room with one bed. The room, meanwhile, reeked of smoke mixed with other putrid odors, he said, forcing workers to sleep with blankets over their heads.

The motel was at times without heat or water, The Wall Street Journal reported last month. The workers prepared their meals on heated plates placed on the carpet.

The worker took “team B” at JBS, working from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., alongside some 500 other Haitian workers.

The queue moves so quickly, the worker said, that before he finishes eating one piece of meat, another has already arrived. Workers are caught between movements so fast that they risk cutting themselves or being punished if they don’t keep up.

“It’s really dangerous,” he said.

Since the Haitian workers arrived at the Greeley plant, JBS has accelerated so-called “chain speeds” on the production line, the workers’ EEOC charge claims. The 430 head of cattle per hour marks a substantial increase over historical line speeds and those of “Shift A,” where speeds are often around 250 to 300 head of cattle per hour, the charge says.

Workers are paid by the hour, so faster line speeds allow the company to process the same amount of meat more cheaply.

“But it also imposes extraordinary human costs,” the EEOC filing says.

JBS also limits workers’ bathroom breaks, rarely allowing Haitian workers to leave production lines, the worker said. One worker even urinated in her pants on the production line during meat processing because her supervisor wouldn’t let her go to the bathroom, according to the prosecution.

Other employees – who are not Haitian – are allowed to use the restroom immediately, the worker said.

Many workers are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs, he said. They know they can’t return to Haiti, so they try to make the most of this difficult job.

“I decided to see if we could get better treatment or if anything good could come of it,” he said.

Employees have long complained about working conditions at the JBS Greeley facility.

Last month, a union representing workers at the plant called on federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies to hold the company accountable.

The union, UFCW Local 7, accused the company of human trafficking via TikTok; forcing workers to live in squalid conditions; threats and intimidation against workers and their families; dangerously high production line speeds; and hold workers’ mail.