First Meatpacking Strike in 40 Years Shuts Down Colorado Plant

Historic Walkout Begins

Nearly 4,000 workers at one of America's largest meatpacking facilities launched a strike Monday morning, marking the first walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse in four decades . Hundreds of strikers picketed outside the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, owned by JBS USA, as the sun rose Monday , bundled against the cold while chanting "huelga!" — Spanish for strike.

99% of workers voted to authorize the strike , according to Kim Cordova, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7. The walkout began at 5:30 a.m. after contract negotiations collapsed and a previous agreement expired Sunday night. The union said that it had offered to meet with company representatives over the weekend to avert a strike, but the company refused .

The Greeley facility processes thousands of cattle daily and represents about 6% of the total U.S. beef slaughterhouse capacity . JBS is the top employer in Greeley, a city 50 miles northeast of Denver with a population of about 114,000 people .

Workers Demand Fair Treatment

Union representatives cite multiple grievances driving the unprecedented action. JBS has charged workers $1,100 or more to offset the company's expenses for personal protective equipment needed to ensure worker safety . Workers also face less than 2% annual wage increases, below inflation in Colorado .

"They don't really value their workers and we're the ones that help them get all their profit," said Leticia Avalos, a 34-year-old union steward and Greeley native who has been working at the plant since 2020 . Jennifer Lynn, who earns $23.25 per hour on the production line, works double shifts three times weekly to make ends meet. "They don't care about our safety," said Lynn, who said supervisors run the line faster than workers can handle .

The union also alleges intimidation tactics. At the Greeley plant, the company tried to intimidate workers to quit the union in one-on-one meetings, union general counsel Matt Shechter said . Safety remains a critical concern in what workers describe as extremely hazardous conditions involving sharp knives and heavy machinery.

Economic Ripple Effects

The timing couldn't be more challenging for America's beef industry. The strike comes at a 75-year low for the U.S. cattle population, with a Jan. 1 inventory of 86.2 million animals — down 1% from the prior year . Rising beef prices have added to economic anxiety in the U.S., while the administration of President Donald Trump has turned to a trade deal with Argentina in efforts to lower prices for food, including beef .

According to our partners at KUER, a JBS plant in Utah called in 1400 workers Saturday to process cattle diverted from Colorado . However, industry experts warn that other facilities can only absorb the lost capacity temporarily. An extended strike at Greeley could disrupt the industry, particularly in Colorado and neighboring states. "The feedlots, the people who have the cattle right now -- the longer they sit kind of in a holding pattern, the more expensive they become to feed," said Jennifer Martin at Colorado State University's animal sciences department .

For consumers, the implications are clear: "prices will likely go up" if the strike extends beyond the initial two-week period planned by the union. The last comparable strike occurred at a Hormel plant in Minnesota in 1985, lasting more than a year and including violent confrontations between police and protesters . The stakes have never been higher for both workers seeking dignity and consumers facing an already strained food system.