U.S. meatpacking workers are getting their first new defined benefit pension plan in nearly 40 years under a contract agreement between Brazil-based JBS, one of the world’s largest meat companies, and an American labour union.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union said 26,000 meatpacking workers at 14 JBS facilities would be eligible for the multi-employer pension plan. The new contract, which was ratified by workers this week, also adds paid sick leave, wage increases and new plant safety measures.
“This contract, everything that was achieved, really starts to paint the picture of what everybody would like to have: long-term stable jobs that are a benefit for the employees, a benefit for the employers and a benefit for the community they operate in,” Mark Lauritsen, the head of the UFCW’s meatpacking and food processing division, told the Associated Press in an interview.
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In a statement, JBS said the pension plan reflected its commitment to its workforce and the rural communities in which it operates. “We are confident that the significant wage increases over the life of the contracts and the opportunity of a secure retirement through our pension plan will create a better future for the men and women who work with us at JBS.”
Lauritsen said DB pension plans used to be standard in the meatpacking industry but were cut in the 1980s as companies consolidated. Big meat companies like Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc. now offer 401(k) plans but not traditional pensions.
The union started discussing a return to pensions a few years ago as a way to help companies hang on to their workers, according to Lauritsen. “The good thing about a 401 (k) is that it’s portable, but the bad thing about a 401 (k) is that it’s portable,” he said. “This was a way to capture and retain people who were moving from plant to plant, chasing an extra dime or a quarter.”
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Workers hailed the plan. “Everything now is very expensive and it’s hard to save money for retirement, so this gives us security,” said Thelma Cruz, a union steward with JBS at a pork plant in Marshalltown, Iowa.
A return to DB pension plans is unusual but not unheard of in the private sector. International Business Machines Corp. reopened its frozen pension plan in 2023.
The contract increases average pay for meatpacking workers to $23 to $24 per hour and establishes safety and ergonomic committees at every plant. Paid sick leave — which rival Tyson Foods began offering in 2021 — was also hailed by workers in an industry devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The move could also help JBS in its effort to burnish its image ahead of a potential U.S. stock offering. The company has wanted to list its share in both Brazil and New York for years, but has been thwarted by lawmakers, environmental groups and others who are concerned about its history of corruption and environmental damage.