Workers Strike JBS' Greeley, Colo., Plant
Workers at JBS USA’s Greeley, Colo., plant went on strike today (March 16), demanding higher wages and safer working conditions. The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union Local 7 union represents 3,800 workers at the facility.
A local TV station said it’s the first strike at a U.S. slaughterhouse in more than 40 years. The Greeley plant is a former Swift Beef facility.
In addition to asking for more pay, the union says JBS has been reducing hours and creating unsafe working conditions – primarily through the increase of production line speed, from 390 animals to process per hour to 420. A union news release claims JBS has been charging workers $1,100 or more to offset the company's expenses for safety equipment or protective.
JBS issued a statement carried by United Press International: "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. UFCW Local 7 has refused to let team members vote on this offer."
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.