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Employees at one of the country’s largest meatpacking facilities have decided to end a three-week strike and resume work after JBS USA, the plant’s owner, consented to reopen negotiations, according to labor union officials on Saturday.
The strike involved thousands of employees from the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado. It began on March 16, orchestrated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, as part of efforts to secure increased wages and improved healthcare benefits.
This labor action unfolded against the backdrop of the U.S. cattle numbers reaching their lowest point in 75 years, a situation exacerbated by drought and the low prices offered to ranchers. Concurrently, beef prices have surged to unprecedented levels, contributing to economic concerns across the nation.
The union announced that workers would return to their jobs on Tuesday morning, following JBS USA’s commitment to resume discussions later in the week.
“Our workers stand strong and will persist in their fight,” stated Kim Cordova, the local union president, in a press release.
JBS USA spokesperson Nikki Richardson said the company is “preparing to resume and ramp up operations at the Greeley plant next week.”
“Our Last, Best and Final offer remains on the table,” Richardson said in an email that did not include terms. “We hope employees will have the opportunity to review and vote on it soon.”
The strike at Greeley is the first strike at a U.S. slaughterhouse since workers walked out at a Hormel plant in Minnesota in 1985. That strike lasted more than a year and included violent confrontations between police and protesters.
JBS is the world’s largest meatpacking company with a market capitalization of $17 billion. It is the top employer in Greeley, a city 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Denver with a population of about 114,000 people.
The strike at Greeley was launched on accusations by union officials that management at Swift Beef Co. retaliated against workers and committed other unfair labor practices.
The union said the company had offered less than 2% more a year in wages, which is less than inflation in Colorado. JBS USA has denied any labor law violations and said its contract offer was fair.
The Greeley plant has about 6% of the total U.S. beef slaughterhouse capacity, said Abby Greiman, a livestock market adviser for industry consultant Ever.Ag.
An extended strike threatened to disrupt the industry, which could ultimately drive up prices, said Jennifer Martin at Colorado State University’s animal sciences department.
The price for 100% ground chuck beef more than doubled over the past two decades from $2.55 to $6.07 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Colorado walkout followed the January closure of a meatpacking plant in Lexington, Nebraska, which was expected to ripple through the local economy and community. Tyson Foods cited the smaller herd and millions of dollars in expected losses this year.
JBS shares were approved for trading on the New York Stock Exchange last May despite environmental opposition and a federal probe that led to its guilty plea in October to bribing Brazilian officials for the financing it used for its U.S. expansion.
At the Greeley plant, union officials said the company tried to intimidate workers to quit the union in one-on-one meetings, union general counsel Matt Shechter said.