About 3,800 workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, one of the largest in the nation, went on strike Monday morning in what union representatives said is the first walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse since the 1980s.
Claire Poundstone, an attorney representing workers with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, said she expected strikers to walk picket lines through the evening.
“We'll be here all day,” she said.
The strike at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley began at 5:30 a.m. and started what UFCW Local 7 said is the beginning of a two week unfair labor practices strike.
“The goal of negotiations is never to go on strike,” said Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, in a press release announcing the strike last week. “But when the company violates workers’ rights and ignores workers’ concerns about safety and health, the Company gives workers no choice but to stand together in solidarity and show the Company that they cannot be silenced.”
The move follows accusations from union officials that owner JBS USA retaliated against workers and committed other unfair labor practices amid contract negotiations. The company tried to intimidate workers to quit the union in one-on-one meetings, according to union general counsel Matt Shechter. He said the union hasn’t been able to reach an agreement with JBS in several areas, including pay and health care costs.
“The other thing that's really, really motivating workers is safety,” Shechter said. “This is a very dangerous place to work. Uh, there's lots of sharp knives, heavy machinery. These jobs are very dangerous and one wrong move, and you can literally die in this workplace.”
In a press release the union said JBS has been charging many workers at least $1,100 annually to offset the company’s expenses for personal protective equipment needed to ensure worker safety.
“For months now, JBS has been insisting on poverty-level wages for workers at the plant, offering less than 2% in average annual wage increases, far below the level of inflation in Colorado, while at the same time putting all the risk of rising healthcare costs on workers," said Cordova in a statement. "Meanwhile, despite being the world’s largest protein producer, JBS has been stealing from workers’ paychecks to fund the Company’s profits. JBS must do right by these workers and negotiate lawfully. Make no mistake, JBS chose this strike in an effort to lower worker wages nationwide, just as the Company has squeezed entire communities of ranchers across this country.”
A previous contract extension expired at midnight Sunday. The last contract expired in July 2025. In early February, 99% of workers at the Greeley plant authorized the union to strike.
The strike comes at a 75-year low for the U.S. cattle population, with a Jan. 1 inventory of 86.2 million animals -- down 1% from the prior year. Beef prices have added to economic anxiety in the U.S., while the administration of President Donald Trump has turned to a trade deal with Argentina in efforts to lower prices for food, including beef.
It also follows the January closure of a meatpacking plant in Lexington, Nebraska, which was expected to ripple through the local economy and community.
Cordova said 99% of workers voted to authorize the strike at the Greeley plant. No formal negotiations took place over the weekend after the company refused a union request to negotiate on Saturday, Shechter said.
At the Greeley plant, the company tried to intimidate workers to quit the union in one-on-one meetings, Shechter said. A JBS USA statement issued before the strike said the company fully complies with federal and state labor and employment laws.
JBS USA’s statement also said that any employee who didn’t want to strike could work and be paid. The company said it would operate two shifts at the plant Monday and would temporarily move production as needed to other JBS facilities.
“Our goal is to minimize impact to our customers, our partners, and the broader marketplace while we work toward a fair resolution in Greeley,” the company said.
It's the first strike at a U.S. slaughterhouse since workers walked out at a Hormel plant in Minnesota in 1985, Cordova said. That strike lasted more than a year and included violent confrontations between police and protesters, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.
Source: cpr.org
