Nearly 4,000 Meatpacking Workers to Strike in Colorado
3,800 meat packing workers are gearing up to strike JBS on Monday, March 16 in Greeley, Colorado. The UFCW Local 7 members have been fighting for stronger wage increases and to require the company to pay for life-saving Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), among other contract issues. It would be the first meatpacking strike in the U.S. in decades.
Photo from UFCW Local 7 of JBS Bargaining Committee on March 6, 2026.
JBS is the largest meat producer in the world, raking in billions of dollars in profits every year. JBS is a Brazilian-owned company that has been criticized for corruption, harmful environmental practices, and dangerous working conditions. In 2025, the Greeley plant admitted wrongdoing and paid a $4 million fine after the Department of Labor found cleaning contractors at the plant were using child labor.
Over the years, JBS has paid out millions of dollars in court settlements over illegal price fixing. In just the last year, JBS has paid a collective $100 million in settlements for breaking federal antitrust laws, creating higher beef prices for consumers.
On top of that, JBS just paid $55 million in a $200 million meatpacking industry settlement over employer collusion to illegally repress worker wages.
In May 2025, JBS stock went public in the U.S. market, after facing pushback from politicians, regulators, and activist groups. U.S. lawmakers, including 15 Senators from across the aisle, initially resisted its approval by the SEC. But now that JBS is traded in the U.S. stock market, JBS executives are making more money than ever.
The Greeley plant is JBS's flagship beef processing plant in the U.S. Half of JBS’s billions in annual revenue comes from the U.S., where it has over 72,000 employees.
JBS workers at the Greeley plant voted to authorize a strike by 99%. They’re fighting for higher wages, affordable healthcare, and safety protections on the job. JBS has proposed just 2% in wage increases for workers, less than half the rate of inflation.
The bosses are using fear and intimidation to keep workers down, but UFCW Local 7 members are rising — and their communities are standing with them. Solidarity with the JBS Greeley workers!