Workers at Major US Meatpacking Plant to Halt Strike and Resume Negotiations

Meatpacking Plant Strike Ends as JBS USA Agrees to Resume Negotiations

GREELEY, Colo. — Thousands of workers at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, will return to work on Tuesday morning after a three-week strike, labor union representatives announced on Saturday. The strike, which was coordinated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, began on March 16.

The strike came as U.S. cattle numbers hit a 75-year-old low this year, driven in part by drought and low prices offered to ranchers. Meanwhile, beef prices have soared to record levels. The union stated that workers will return to work after plant owner JBS USA agreed to reopen talks later in the week. Striking workers in Greeley want higher wages and better health care.

JBS USA, the world's largest meatpacking company with a market capitalization of $17 billion, is the top employer in Greeley, a city with a population of about 114,000 people located 50 miles northeast of Denver. Union officials previously criticized a 2% wage hike as less than inflation.

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Comparison of Beef Prices Over Two Decades

The price for 100% ground chuck beef more than doubled over the past two decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase has added to economic anxiety in the U.S.

Union officials stated that workers will continue to fight for better wages and health care. JBS USA spokesperson Nikki Richardson said the company is "preparing to resume and ramp up operations at the Greeley plant next week." The company's "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."

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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.