JBS Swift Beef Workers Strike in First Major Meatpacking Walkout in Decades

At 5:30 a.m. on March 16, roughly 3,800 production workers at the JBS-owned Swift Beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, walked off the line and formed a picket across the street, effectively shutting down a facility that on a normal day produces about 7 percent of all beef consumed in the United States. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 called the action an Unfair Labor Practice strike after the previous contract expired Sunday night, making it the first major meatpacking walkout at a U.S. beef slaughterhouse in roughly four decades.

The workforce that walked is largely immigrant, drawn from Haiti, Somalia, Burma, and Mexico. In the predawn cold, picketers sang in Haitian Creole, chanted through a megaphone in Spanish, and carried signs reading "PLEASE DO NOT PATRONIZE JBS." Some wrapped themselves in blankets as others shouted "huelga!" into the morning air.

Deborah Rodarte, an inside skirt cutter at the Greeley plant, put the workers' position plainly: "We work very hard, in difficult conditions, and want JBS to negotiate fairly for a contract that will allow us to live with dignity. We will stand together on the picket line until JBS recognizes our value and treats us fairly."

The union's allegations go beyond wages. Matt Shechter, UFCW Local 7's general counsel, said the company tried to intimidate workers into quitting the union through one-on-one meetings. Union officials also alleged that JBS refused a request to negotiate over the weekend before the contract expired Sunday night. Workers and union representatives have pointed to line speeds as a central grievance: according to workers, lines run so fast there is no time to sharpen knives properly, producing debilitating repetitive stress injuries. That concern has grown more urgent since the Trump administration's Department of Agriculture removed all restrictions on production-line speeds for poultry and pork, and workers say JBS is now pushing to lift equivalent restrictions on beef lines.

JBS pushed back on the union's account. A company spokesperson said JBS stood by its contract offer, described it as fair, and blamed the union for ending negotiations. In a statement, the company said its offer "has already delivered meaningful wage increases, a secure pension, and long-term financial stability" to its other unionized workers, and that it would operate the Greeley facility "to the best of its ability." JBS also said it was temporarily shifting beef production to other facilities to minimize supply-chain disruptions.

The strike lands at a volatile moment for beef markets. Prices have risen 15.2 percent over the past year, driven by the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Trump administration moved in February to quadruple beef imports from Argentina by 80,000 metric tons to help offset those prices. A picket participant identified only as Cordova warned the disruption extends well beyond Colorado: "If these plants close, it will have a huge impact on the economy. Not just in Colorado, but in the US."

JBS is not negotiating from a position of public goodwill. In January, the company agreed to pay $83.5 million to settle price-fixing conspiracy allegations involving other meatpackers. The company, which carries a $17 billion market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange after its listing last May, also pleaded guilty in October to bribing Brazilian officials for the financing it used to expand into the U.S. market.

Union leaders said they had been meeting with the company since May of last year in an attempt to reach a contract. UFCW Local 7 said the strike is planned for at least two weeks but could be extended. A worker identified by 9NEWS only as Ammer said he expected to be on the picket line for weeks. With 7 percent of the country's beef supply idled and no new talks announced, the pressure on both sides is already visible — and the restaurants, distributors, and grocery chains that depend on Greeley's output are watching.