JBS workers confirm strike at Northern Colorado meat processing plant over alleged unfair labor practices
Workers at the largest meat processing company in the world will strike at its Colorado plant, according to the labor union representing those workers.
The strike at JBS's plant in Greeley will start on March 16, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 said on Monday, days after saying the strike would be possible.
The strike comes after the workers gave notice of cancellation of their contract due to alleged unfair labor practices. UFCW Local 7 said 99% of workers at the plant approved the strike over "poverty-level" wages.
"The goal of negotiations is never to go on strike, 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," UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova said in a statement on Monday.
Workers' annual wage increases have failed to keep up with cost-of-living increases, according to Cordova, who said last week that "JBS has been stealing from workers' paychecks to fund the company's profits. JBS can afford to do better."
The company disputed the workers' claims in a statement, saying it engaged in contract negotiations for eight months leading up to the strike announcement.
"We stand by the offer we presented. It is strong, fair, and consistent with the historic national contract reached in 2025 in partnership with UFCW International-an agreement that has already delivered higher wages, a secure pension, and long‑term financial stability for team members at our other major facilities," JBS spokesperson Nikki Richardson said, in part. "Since 2019, base hourly wages at the Greeley plant have increased by approximately 46%, outpacing cumulative Front Range inflation of roughly 25% over the same period. This represents real wage growth of about 16% for team members."
In a March 7 letter to the union provided by the company, Matthew Lovell, JBS USA's head of labor relations, environmental health and safety, and Security, told Cordova that the company has made "meaningful movement on significant economic and non-economic issues throughout this process."
He said the "last, best, and final" offer in negotiations was accepted by UFCW International for workers at every other JBS plant.
"It is the Union, not the Company, that abruptly walked away from the negotiation table without providing any response to our updated offer, offering no further conversation, or attempting to reach a deal," Lovell's letter continued.
During the strike, JBS says it will move production to other facilities to "minimize impact to our customers, our partners, and the broader marketplace."
JBS was one of about 20 food companies that settled a 2024 federal lawsuit for over $200 million over employee wage fixing. The U.S. Department of Labor also said in 2022 that JBS illegally hired minors for dangerous jobs and overnight shifts at several of the company's Minnesota and Nebraska plants. And in 2021, the company agreed to pay up to $5.5 million to settle a 2010 discrimination lawsuit, which alleged that the company discriminated against employees because they were Muslim, Somali, and Black.
JBS says it employs more than 270,000 people around the world — 3,800 of whom are based in Greeley, where JBS USA is headquartered — and pays $3.1 billion for livestock each year, making it the world's largest meat supplier. CBS News also reported that it's the top beef producer in the U.S. and the second-biggest producer of pork and poultry.
