Greeley Workers Walk Out In Historic Beef Plant Strike

Around 3,800 workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants went on strike Monday in Colorado, marking what union leaders say is the first walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse in 40 years.

Hundreds of striking employees gathered outside the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, owned by JBS USA, braving the morning cold while holding signs in English and Spanish urging the public not to support the company, as reported by the AP.

The walkout comes amid allegations from the union that JBS retaliated against workers and engaged in unfair labor practices during contract negotiations. JBS USA said Monday that it stands by its contract offer, calling it fair, and blamed the union for halting talks. Union officials countered that the company declined their request to negotiate over the weekend before their contract expired Sunday night.

“They don’t really value their workers, and we’re the ones that help them get all their profit,” said Leticia Avalos, a 34-year-old union steward from Greeley who has worked at the plant since 2020. Avalos, a mother to a 6-month-old, said she depends on the job but is willing to make sacrifices to make the company listen.

The union argues that its members perform some of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in the country and deserve better pay and healthcare. It claims workers have sometimes been charged over $1,100 for personal protective equipment, and that annual wage increases of less than 2% lag behind Colorado’s inflation.

Smoke was visible from parts of the plant Monday, though it was unclear how fully operations were running. A JBS spokesperson said many employees reported to work, but declined to give exact numbers, noting that employees who did not wish to strike would still have work and pay.

The strike comes amid broader market pressures, including the smallest U.S. cattle herd in decades and record-high beef prices. U.S. imports were also affected by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil. Ground beef prices, for example, have more than doubled over the past 20 years.

This walkout follows the January closure of a Tyson Foods plant in Lexington, Nebraska, which had ripple effects on the local economy. JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker with a $17 billion market value, has faced scrutiny for environmental concerns and a federal bribery case in Brazil.

At the Greeley plant, union officials say the company pressured employees to leave the union. JBS maintains that it follows all labor laws and had plans to continue production through other facilities and shifts.

Nearly all employees — 99% — voted to authorize the strike, according to Kim Cordova, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7. It’s the first U.S. slaughterhouse strike since a 1985 walkout at a Hormel plant in Minnesota, which lasted over a year and involved violent clashes.

JBS is the largest employer in Greeley, a city of roughly 114,000, and the strike has significant local impact. “It’s a huge impact in the community for us to be striking,” Avalos said. “I know a lot of us are worried, and hope that nothing goes even more south.”