🚲 Downtown ‘die-in’ today

JBS Factory Workers Have Had Enough

Union employees at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley are planning to strike beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, March 16. The decision comes after eight months of negotiations — over safety equipment, fair wages, and rising health care — have stalled out, according to union representatives. JBS is standing by its current offer, which it says is “strong, fair, and consistent,” and accusing the union of “abruptly” walking away from the bargaining table. [UFCW Local 7; CO Sun]

• The impact: Nearly 3,800 workers will walk off the job next week if the strike commences. The Greeley plant serves as JBS USA’s headquarters and is one of the largest beef processors in the country.
• A checkered track record: Last August, a former JBS safety instructor filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that management pressured her to falsify safety records. JBS has also previously been cited for child labor law violations, religious discrimination, and dangerous working conditions. [Denver Post 🔒]
• Interesting fact: The last meatpacker strike in Colorado was in 1980 at the Monfort Packing Plant (now owned by JBS). The last in the U.S. was in 1985 at the Hormel Foods Corp. in Minnesota.
• More listening: This episode of the 99% Invisible podcast from last September centers the Greeley meatpacking plant in a conversation about how the U.S. is increasingly relying on vulnerable refugee communities to staff grueling factory jobs.

💭 Remembering the Best of South Denver

A history-loving Denverite has got some exciting new plans for a museum dedicated to South Denver — an area of the city that used to be its own town! Dreams for the future space include giving new life to a long-neglected home on South Lincoln Street and filling it with historic exhibits, a locally-curated gift store, a coffee shop, and more. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🪧 Community ‘Die-In’ Calls for Safer Streets

Pedestrian and cyclist safety advocates will gather at the City and County Building this afternoon for a community “die-in” as part of a citywide action dedicated to street safety. The demonstration will commemorate the 93 people killed on Denver streets last year. [Denver Streets Partnership]

🍽️ Restaurants Helping Restaurants

Local restaurants can help support each other through Shift Meal, a new gift card exchange website made specifically for those in the industry. The idea comes from entrepreneur (and unofficial savior of Old Denver institutions) Danny Newman, who says the intention is to boost business for participants through word-of-mouth. [BusinessDen 🔒]

• A critical time for Denver restaurants: A recent industry report showed the grim reality of a dining scene struggling to get back above water, and the debate on how to fix it is heated. [Denverite]

📜 Sponsors Table Sex Work Bill

Sponsors behind a proposal to decriminalize prostitution say they intend to kill the bill this week due to a lack of support. The bill was scheduled for its first hearing today. “Ultimately, we all decided that having a very tense, long committee hearing, where [sex workers would] have to be in a room with a lot of … hostile voices … wasn’t worth it,” Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, the bill’s main sponsor, said of the decision. [CO Sun]