GREELEY — Thousands of union workers employed by the largest meat-packing company in the U.S. went on strike early Monday morning, picketing in front of the JBS facility in Greeley. The workers are calling for higher wages and safer working conditions.
The union, which represents 3,800 workers at the plant, has accused JBS of trying to squeeze more out of staff while reducing hours and creating an unsafe work environment. Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, said the plant has sped up the production line to process 420 animals per hour, up from 390. As well as higher wages, workers want reimbursement of protective gear, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
The union has filed a handful of complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging retaliation and change to terms and conditions of employment by JBS, also known as Swift Beef Company.
JBS spokesperson Nikki Richardson said in an email that the company has spent the past eight months in discussions with union members over a new contract.
Cordova said JBS’s proposal to raise wages by 60 cents an hour in the first year and 30 cents annually for the next two years is similar to a national agreement the company made with unions in other states last year, but that it does not cover Colorado’s higher cost of living.
“JBS is trying to force us to take the national agreement,” she said. “But the health care costs increased 22 cents an hour (so) those folks got an 8-cent increase. That’s not gonna work for us.”
Richardson previously called the latest offer “strong, fair and consistent with the historic national contract reached in 2025 in partnership with UFCW International.”
This is the first strike for the meatpacking industry since a national-level one occurred at Hormel Foods in Minnesota in 1985.
JBS employees have been working on an extension of the expired contract since July and gave a seven-day notice that they planned to strike.
Headquartered in Greeley, JBS USA has 132 processing facilities, 109,000 employees and operates in nine countries, according to its website. In Greeley, workers process cattle into cuts of meat that end up on dinner tables nationwide. JBS, also known as Swift Beef Company, is one of the biggest beef processors in the country.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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