The following statement was drafted by healthcare workers in Greeley, Colorado in support of 3,800 meatpacking workers currently on strike against JBS.

We are a group of local healthcare workers who stand in unwavering solidarity with the JBS workers who are courageously striking for safety and fair treatment on the job. Every day in our workplaces, we witness the human consequences of unsafe working conditions, economic uncertainty, and policies that value profit above people. Our support is grounded in what we see and hear at our Greeley clinics and hospitals. We know that when workers in one sector stand up, it strengthens all workers.

The conditions faced by JBS workers are inextricably linked to the conditions we face in healthcare. The same economic pressures that lead to dangerous line speeds, inadequate safety protections, and a lack of proper PPE and equipment in the past are mirrored in our own workplaces through chronic understaffing and cuts to essential services. Medical reductions, the closure of rural hospitals, and the erosion of patient care standards all stem from the same prioritization of profit over the wellbeing of workers and those we serve.

This is a shared struggle that cuts across political and economic divides. Whether in a hospital or a meatpacking plant, we are being asked to do more with less, often at great personal cost. Attempts to divide us by industry, by immigration status, by race, or by political affiliation, only serve to weaken our collective power. When JBS workers are demanding safer conditions and fair treatment, they are also advancing the broader fight for a society where workers are respected and protected.

Our solidarity is also informed by firsthand knowledge. We have treated workers and their families and have seen the realities behind the headlines. We have cared for patients living in overcrowded and unsafe housing conditions that exacerbate illness and make recovery difficult. We have encountered workers who tell they have significant sick time or fear retaliation.

We have known workers who faced threats of termination when they needed to be present at the hospital for a partner’s high-risk pregnancy or a child’s serious illness. We have seen firsthand the stress and indignity caused by JBS management’s harassment of workers over the legitimacy of medical excuse notes we have provided to them to support their attendance.

These are not isolated incidents. They have systemic causes that demand action. As healthcare workers, we take an oath to protect health and preserve life. That commitment does not end at the hospital door. It extends into our communities and the broader systems that determine people’s ability to live healthy, dignified lives.

We call on fellow workers, unions, community members and leaders across all sectors to stand with JBS workers in their fight.

Solidarity is not just symbolic; it is a necessary condition for a meaningful change. When we stand together, we have the power to challenge the structures that harm us and to build a future rooted in health, safety and respect for all. We stand with JBS workers because what they’re fighting for affects all of us, and it’s something we can only achieve by standing together.