As the country’s first meatpacking strike since the 1980s reaches its fifth day, a handful of Colorado’s top Democrats have spoken out in support of workers at the JBS facility, while leading Republicans, with one exception, have been silent or noncommittal — or critical of the 3,800 workers for walking off the job at the largest employer in Weld County.
U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), the congressman representing the district where the JBS meatpacking plant is located, has yet to take a stance on the strike and didn’t respond to an email from the Colorado Times Recorder seeking comment. Evans last year supported a planned plant expansion of the plant.
In contrast, Adam DeRito, one of Evans’ primary opponents, joined strikers on the picket line Monday to show his forceful support, which appears to be a unique stance among the state’s Republicans.
“When a foreign-owned beef company controls a huge portion of America’s food supply and American workers have to go on strike just to earn a fair wage, that is not just a labor dispute. That is a national security issue,” said DeRito in a post on Facebook on Monday. “As a fellow union brother of USW Local 12-477, we stand with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 and the workers demanding fair treatment.”
Several of the Democratic candidates competing in Evans’ 8th congressional district have come out in support of the strikers, including former state Rep. Shannon Bird and state Rep. Manny Rutinel.
Among those who have discussed the issue is state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County), a Republican gubernatorial candidate, who was asked about the strike during an appearance on 710 KNUS’s “The Jeff and Bill Show” on Tuesday.
“This is what happens when you have all of these policies that come forward from Democrats in this one-party-controlled state, where they have gone after business, gone after agriculture, gone after oil and gas, gone after our major industries in the state of Colorado,” said Kirkmeyer. “You’re sending a direct message to places like JBS that says, ‘Hey, we don’t really want you here.’ And so when these jobs all go away and when this industry goes away … then we’ll be in our own personal recession because of what Democrats have done in this state.”
Kirkmeyer’s statements during the interview indicated that she believes it was the union’s fault for potentially pushing JBS to move its operations from the state, describing the strikers as “well-paid individuals” with “great benefits.”
Another Republican state senator, Scott Bright, whose district includes the plant, also discussed the strike on the program the next day.
While Bright expressed empathy for the concerns of both workers and management, he refrained from taking a hard stance toward one side of the issue or the other, saying that he “[hasn’t] been engaged in Greeley” where most of his constituents reside.
“The solution lies with the union representatives, as well as the company, to come to some sort of agreement there. I don’t think that I or anyone in the legislature can help negotiate that,” said Bright. “We want safe places for these folks to work. We also want fair wages to be paid. This is part of the negotiation process. I hope that they can get a deal done. They’ve been working on it for quite a long time now, and we really hope that they can get this across the finish line.”
The state senator expressed relatively little concern over the possibility of JBS moving out of the state, however, stating that while the company could shift production to other plants, that “hauling cows that far to process is going to result in a much larger loss than a 2% increase on wages would,” referring to the 2% wage increase offered by managment and turned down by the union.
CTR also reached out to state Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, a Republican representing the area in which the plant is located, who expressed hope and optimism that a resolution will be found. He also invited his constituents to reach out to him for support and said that he is “here for the management of the organization to help facilitate any type of compromise necessary to get people back to work and product back on the shelves.”
“The strike by JBS workers in Greeley is very unfortunate, not only for an already struggling economy in a community that is currently searching to cut millions from its budget and is seeing restaurants and other small businesses shut down left and right, but also for the families of the thousands of workers who are now without a paycheck for who knows how long,” said Gonzalez in his email.
Other Republicans from the surrounding districts, including state Sen. Bryan Pelton, and state Reps. Dusty Johnson and Carlos Barron have not made any comments. CTR reached out to these officials to ask about their positions, but has not received responses. This article will be updated with any comments received.
