11 of America’s largest red meat producers have joined forces to squeeze wages, workers say in the lawsuit
Three meat plant workers have filed a federal lawsuit alleging 11 of the largest beef and pork producers in the United States of conspiring to drive down wages and benefits.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Denver, seeks class-action status and alleges producers have been working together since at least 2014 to keep workers’ compensation lower than the market would allow, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act violates.
It was brought by two meat plant workers from Iowa and one from Georgia, but is meant to represent hundreds of thousands of other people who have worked at the company’s 140 facilities in jobs ranging from slaughter to production. According to the lawsuit, the plants together produce about 80% of the red meat sold to US consumers.
The companies are JBS USA Food Company, Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp., American Foods Group LLC, Triumph Foods LLC, Seaboard Foods LLC, National Beef Packing Co. LLC, Iowa Premium LLC, Smithfield Foods Inc., Agri Beef Co. and Perdue Farms Inc., along with some subsidiaries.
Cargill denied any wrongdoing.
“Although we cannot comment specifically while the lawsuit is pending, Cargill independently determines compensation to ensure it pays fair and competitive wages to employees at all of the company’s plants,” said company spokesman Daniel Sullivan.
Perdue Farms spokeswoman Andrea Staub declined to comment, saying the company is not discussing any pending lawsuits. Smithfield spokesman Jim Monroe said the company has not had an opportunity to verify the allegations and has not commented at this time. Representatives from the other companies did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages asking for comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed by Hagens Berman’s attorneys, also names two consulting firms that allegedly helped the meat producers exchange compensation information.
“Our firm secured $195 million in the poultry processing industry for the same antitrust conduct. The meat industry’s gravy train ends here,” the law firm’s managing partner Steve Berman said in an announcement of the lawsuit Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges the meat producers held secret meetings to discuss wages and communicated in secret so as not to have a written record of the talks.
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