Overview
- Workers at JBS’s Greeley beef plant ratified a two-year contract Sunday, ending a three-week strike by nearly 3,800 people and clearing the way to return to normal operations.
- The agreement raises pay over two years, gives a $750 one-time bonus, requires the company to pay for protective gear, and protects workers from higher health care costs, according to the union.
- UFCW Local 7 will withdraw seven unfair labor practice charges, while JBS said it was disappointed the union dropped a pension benefit negotiated last year.
- Local 7 says the deal delivers roughly a 33% wage increase over two years, which JBS characterizes as in line with its prior offer.
- The walkout was the first U.S. slaughterhouse strike since 1985, a notable flashpoint in Greeley where JBS is the top employer and where any disruption can ripple through a beef market already facing record prices and a 75-year cattle low, alongside other recent plant cutbacks.