The labor union representing thousands of northern Colorado meatpacking workers and JBS officials have reached a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, union leaders said.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 officials announced the tentative agreement on Friday following two days of negotiations that resumed after a three-week strike at the flagship beef processing plant in Greeley.
The union represents 3,800 workers at the plant, who union officials say face unsafe working conditions and inadequate pay.
Thousands of workers walked off the job March 16, after union officials said JBS refused to increase minimum wages and committed unfair labor practices during negotiations — claims the company denies.
UFCW leaders did not detail the terms of the tentative agreement and did not respond to a request for comment. The agreement will be presented to members for a vote Sunday, the union said in a statement.
“I can confirm we have reached a tentative agreement thatap subject to ratification, and I will share additional details when we are able to,” JBS spokesperson Nikki Richardson said in an email to The Denver Post on Sunday.
The strike was the first at an American meatpacking plant in four decades and the first walkout at the Greeley facility, which is also the city’s top employer. JBS is the world’s largest meatpacking company and has an estimated value of $17 billion.
The Greeley plant, which operates as Swift Beef Co., processes as much as 8% of the country’s beef.
