Thousands of workers began a two-week strike Monday at a JBS-owned Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, as union officials warned the walkout could add to already painful beef prices for U.S. consumers. Employees picketed outside the plant in the morning cold, some shouting “huelga!”—Spanish for “strike”—and others waving signs urging people not to buy from JBS.
The United Food and Commercial Union Local 7 said the strike followed a vote in which 99% of the plant’s roughly 3,800 unionized workers backed the walkout. By early Monday afternoon, the union said more than 2,600 people were at the picket line, with additional workers expected to check in in the days ahead, according to attorney Claire Poundstone.
Poundstone said the strike could be repeated if the company’s alleged unfair labor practices continue. She and other union officials alleged that JBS retaliated against workers and engaged in other unfair labor practices, including, they said, a contract offer that included wage increases of less than 2% annually—an amount union officials said falls below Colorado’s inflation rate.
At the plant, JBS USA denied wrongdoing. Nikki Richardson, a spokesperson for JBS, said in an email that “many team members” reported to work but did not provide a precise number, and wrote that the company’s offer was “historic.” Richardson said the company would allow any employee who did not strike to continue working and being paid, and said JBS could move production as needed to other JBS facilities.
Union supporters and workers disputed the company’s characterization. Leticia Avalos, a union steward and Greeley native who has worked at the plant since 2020, said the fight was about whether the company values its workers, and she tied her own willingness to strike to job security for her family, including a 6-month-old baby. She said she would make sacrifices to push the company to listen.
The strike also unfolds against pressure in the broader beef market. The labor action began as U.S. cattle numbers are at a 75-year low, with a Jan. 1 inventory of 86.2 million animals down 1% from the prior year, and beef prices have risen to record levels. The report said drought and low prices offered to ranchers have contributed to the smaller herd, while imports have been constrained by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter.
The AP account also described the Trump administration’s broader efforts to address food affordability, including accusations that foreign-owned companies were driving up U.S. beef prices and a request that the Department of Justice investigate. It cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing the price of 100% ground chuck beef more than doubled over two decades, rising from $2.55 to $6.07 per pound, and noted that the administration has promoted a trade deal with Argentina as part of that effort.
Livestock-market and university specialists said an extended labor dispute could disrupt feedlots and raise costs before animals reach slaughter. Jennifer Martin, of Colorado State University’s animal sciences department, said the longer cattle remain in holding patterns, the more expensive they become to feed, which could push prices higher for consumers. The report also said the strike follows the closure of a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Lexington, Nebraska, in January—an action Tyson attributed to the smaller herd and expected losses.
The Greeley plant has about 6% of total U.S. beef slaughterhouse capacity, according to Abby Greiman, a livestock market adviser for the industry consultant Ever.Ag., and she said most ranchers can still get cattle to market even with the herd smaller. But Martin said the strike could still affect regional operations, and the report noted that the dispute could test negotiations because other slaughterhouses can absorb some of Swift Beef’s work.
In Greeley, union officials said JBS is the top employer and described the stakes for the community. Union general counsel Matt Shechter said the company tried to intimidate workers to quit the union in one-on-one meetings, while Kim Cordova, president of the union in Greeley, and Martin said the strike is the first at a U.S. slaughterhouse since workers walked out at a Hormel plant in Minnesota in 1985. Local union steward Avalos said the impact in the community is “huge” and that many strikers are worried about how events could unfold.