Cargill meatpacking workers in Fort Morgan on Monday voted in favor of the company’s latest proposal, bringing to an end a monthslong labor dispute.
The vote passed by a 1,113-211 margin, said Chris Suazo, a business agent with Teamsters Local 455, the union representing 1,700 Cargill workers. Neither he nor the company disclosed terms of the agreement.
Employees will return around Aug. 24, with harvest restarting sometime during the week of Sept. 7, according to the company.
In a statement, Cargill said the company is pleased by the vote, adding that “employees will receive training and support needed to return safely, while teams ensure the facility is ready to resume production.”
“We look forward to welcoming employees back and moving forward together,” the statement read.
Earlier this month, union and town officials exhaled after the two sides reached a tentative deal. The workers, however, narrowly voted down that proposal, sending both parties back to the negotiating table.
The plant has been largely dark since April, when Cargill stopped beef production amid contentious contract negotiations with the union. In May, the Minnesota-based company locked out its workers.
The lockout threatened to cripple the local economy. Twenty percent of the town’s population works at Cargill, and the company is responsible for 15% of Fort Morgan’s annual revenue. The labor dispute forced citywide budget cuts, hiring freezes and the prospect of layoffs.
The city manager, Brent Nation, previously told The Denver Post that the resumption of normal operations at the plant would allow the city to return to a more normalized budgeting scenario and avoid cutting staff.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
