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After a prolonged strike, employees at one of the country’s largest meatpacking facilities have successfully negotiated a deal with JBS USA, as announced by the company and union officials on Sunday.
Operations at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, are set to resume immediately following a period of disruption, JBS USA confirmed in a statement.
The agreement was reached following a three-week strike involving thousands of workers. These employees, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 Union, halted work to demand better pay and improved health care benefits. The strike concluded on April 4 when JBS USA agreed to return to the bargaining table.
Under the new agreement, employees will receive wage increases over the next two years, along with a one-time bonus of $750. The union described the tentative deal as a contract that includes “all gains, countless improvements, and not a single concession.”
The contract stipulates that the company will cover the cost of personal protective equipment and will not increase health care costs for workers, according to union representatives.
Local union president Kim Cordova said workers picketed through extreme weather “because they knew their worth and refused to be disrespected. Today, that sacrifice has been rewarded.”
“This is what union power looks like,” Cordova said in the statement.
JBS USA said it is pleased an agreement has been reached, but expressed disappointment that union leadership chose to eliminate pension benefits that were negotiated last year. The company said the pension was designed to strengthen long-term retirement security and argued the union chose to shift those dollars into short-term wage increases rather than into the long-term financial future of workers.
The union will also withdraw seven alleged unfair labor practice charges, according to JBS USA.
“With the agreement now finalized, JBS USA looks forward to restoring stability, supporting its workforce, and continuing to invest in the Greeley facility for the future,” the company said in its statement.
The strike at Greeley was 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 was marked by 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.