How JBS used TikTok to lure Haitian refugees to work at its Colorado meat-processing plant

JBS needed workers It was and the meat-processing giant headquartered in Greeley had just endured a tumultuous stretch The plant became one of Colorado s hotspots during the COVID- pandemic with the virus responsible for the deaths of at least seven workers Multiple laborers left the company as a development The ones who stayed demanded better conditions by walking off the job So JBS got creative A Colorado resident Mackenson Remy recounted a company human materials supervisor that he had a TikTok channel targeted at Haitian immigrants in the U S and that he could use it to advertise JBS jobs according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in U S District Court in Denver The job was perfect for these refugees the HR representative Edmond Ebah narrated Remy the lawsuit alleges The gig was hard but paid well and required no English Housing and food would be taken care of while they got set up in Greeley Remy after posting several videos extolling that opportunity began receiving hundreds of messages from Haitians all over the country the lawsuit says But their experience in Colorado has been marked by injuries discrimination and inhospitable living conditions three Haitian workers allege in the federal lawsuit The recruiters jammed as countless as people into a house at one time sometimes without electricity and water the complaint says Workers hands grew disfigured as they trimmed beef fat and pulled out cow intestines Several urinated themselves because they were denied bathroom breaks the lawsuit states When I first saw a video recruiting Haitian workers to the JBS plant in Greeley I was excited for a great opportunity But instantly upon arrival to an overcrowded hotel room I knew something was wrong and that was only the beginning reported Nesly Pierre a plaintiff in the lawsuit in a news release I m a part of in current times s lawsuit because I don t want workers my fellow Haitians or any group of workers who may come to the U S in the future to suffer in the way that I have JBS representatives did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday Squalid living conditions and dangerous work The Greeley-based company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S A the world s largest processor of beef and pork with more than billion in annual sales JBS USA operates nine U S facilities selling beef products to more than countries on six continents The company employs more than people at these facilities including workers at the Greeley plant Pierre Louine Jean-Louis and Carlos Saint Aubin all Haitian refugees were living in states across the country when they learned about the JBS opportunity through TikTok Remy charged them a recruitment fee ranging from to in exchange for securing them a job the lawsuit alleges Each scrounged together hundreds of dollars to pay their way to Colorado When they got to Greeley JBS put them up in the Rainbow Motel Despite there being just one bed one bathroom and no kitchen in each room the company crammed up to people in each unit the complaint states Pierre reported the room felt like a jail cell with plenty of people forced to sleep on the floor At its peak the -room motel housed more than Haitians according to the lawsuit JBS charged chosen workers weekly fees for the rooms and tacked on an additional charge for trips to the plant Without money or transportation the refugees had to rely on Remy for trips to the grocery store or restaurants Saint Aubin didn t eat for two days according to the lawsuit As new recruits steadily arrived JBS needed to make room at the motel So the company moved dozens of Haitians to a five-bedroom house nearby charging them a week As plenty of as people were living at the house during its height the complaint alleges Sometimes there was no electricity or water During their first week of work JBS gave the recruits a four-day orientation focused on safety and work policies But the training sessions were only in English and Spanish according to the lawsuit Training supervisors then falsified records on behalf of the new workers to ensure they could pass speedily and begin work as soon as feasible an accusation stated by The Denver Post and made in a separate lawsuit against JBS earlier this year Work at the plant meanwhile was exceptionally dangerous Employees endured lacerations amputations severe burns and musculoskeletal injuries the complaint alleges Saint Aubin in his first year of work experienced shooting pains in his chest while working on the line He visited the on-site clinic which gave him a hot towel and sent him back to the floor he alleges in the lawsuit He requested to leave work but was explained he d be penalized After the pain continued JBS called an ambulance to take him to the hospital A practitioner described him that his injury was work-related and that he needed to avoid carrying anything heavy for eight weeks according to the lawsuit But when the worker informed JBS of his medical practitioner s instructions the company advised him it could not accommodate his request the complaint states He d instead have to take eight weeks of unpaid leave The workers allege supervisors barred them from taking bathroom breaks leading several to avoid drinking and eating to stay on the floor Others urinated in their clothes No worker should experience the exploitation and abuse that our clients have endured disclosed Juno Turner an attorney with Towards Justice a Denver nonprofit legal amenity representing the workers in a message That these workers are treated so cruelly amid the current unprecedented attack on immigrant communities just adds insult to literal injury JBS s history of unlawful child labor The company has also been in the crosshairs of U S regulators for years along with myriad claims from its employees over poor or unsafe working conditions The U S Department of Labor in January unveiled JBS relied for years on migrant children to work in its slaughterhouses Related Articles Meat processor JBS pushed Greeley instructors to falsify safety trainings whistleblower says Man dead after getting pinned by semi truck in June at JBS in Greeley JBS announces M expansion at Greeley meatpacking plant JBS targets its Haitian workers in Greeley with grueling work conditions employee alleges in EEOC complaint Beef giant JBS to pay M to settle price-fixing lawsuit Children as young as were hired through an outside sanitation company and worked overnight cleaning shifts at slaughterhouses in Colorado Iowa Minnesota and Nebraska federal investigators identified Their jobs included cleaning dangerous powered equipment labor bureaucrats noted The company agreed to pay million to assist individuals and communities affected by unlawful child labor practices Last year a union representing workers at the Greeley plant called for federal state and local law enforcement and regulatory bodies to hold the company accountable for poor labor practices The union UFCW Local accused the company of human trafficking via social media charging workers to live in squalid conditions threatening and intimidating workers and their families operating with dangerously high production line speeds and withholding mail from workers In October Jean-Louis filed a complaint with the U S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that JBS intentionally discriminates against Haitian workers by subjecting them to poor working conditions Get more business news by signing up for our Market system Now newsletter