Share and Follow
In a significant development, employees at one of the country’s leading meatpacking facilities have decided to end their three-week strike, following JBS USA’s commitment to restart discussions. This update was shared by labor union representatives on Saturday.
The strike, which commenced on March 16, involved thousands of workers from the Swift Beef Co. plant located in Greeley, Colorado. Supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, the workers were advocating for enhanced wages and improved healthcare benefits.
This labor action unfolded against a backdrop of plummeting U.S. cattle numbers, which have reached their lowest in 75 years. This decline is attributed to factors such as drought and the low prices being paid to ranchers. Concurrently, beef prices have climbed to unprecedented heights, intensifying economic concerns across the nation.
According to a union statement, employees are set to resume work on Tuesday morning, following JBS USA’s agreement to enter negotiations later in the week.
“The workforce stands united in their resolve and determination,” stated Kim Cordova, the local union president, emphasizing their ongoing commitment to the cause.
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.