Nearly 4,000 workers walked off the job at the JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado early Monday morning, launching the largest labor strike in the United States so far this year and threatening to disrupt the nation's beef supply chain at a time when food prices remain a top concern for American families.
The strike at one of the country's largest meatpacking facilities—which processes roughly 6,000 cattle per day and supplies beef to grocery stores and restaurants across the country—comes after months of failed contract negotiations between the United Food and Commercial Workers union and JBS USA, the American subsidiary of Brazilian meat giant JBS S.A.
"We're not asking for the moon," said Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, which represents the workers. "These are people who kept America fed during the pandemic, who work in dangerous conditions for wages that haven't kept pace with inflation. They deserve better."
According to union officials, workers are demanding a $3-per-hour wage increase over three years, improved safety protocols following several workplace injuries, and better healthcare benefits. The union says the Greeley plant has seen turnover rates exceeding 40% annually, a figure JBS disputes but hasn't provided alternative data for.
The timing couldn't be worse for American consumers already grappling with elevated food costs. Industry analysts project the strike could reduce national beef processing capacity by approximately 5% if it extends beyond a week, potentially driving up prices at a time when ground beef already averages $5.23 per pound—up from $4.60 a year ago.
"If this drags on for two weeks, you'll start seeing effects at the meat counter," said Jayson Lusk, an agricultural economist at Purdue University. "The real question is whether this sparks similar actions at other plants. The meatpacking industry operates on tight margins and just-in-time delivery. There isn't much slack in the system."
JBS released a statement calling the strike "premature" and saying the company had offered The company said it would bring in temporary workers to maintain operations, though union officials disputed whether replacement workers could safely handle the volume and complexity of the facility's operations.
