By Francisco Picado and Yvonne Hayes

GREELEY, COLORADO — On April 4, 2026, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 announced it was ending a strike against the meatpacking giant JBS Swift here “after JBS agreed to return to the negotiating table,” according to a press release by the union.

Local 7 said bargaining had been set for April 9-10, which was the basis for the decision to return to work on April 7. There has been no other motion toward resolution of the issues that sparked the strike.

“Workers remain united and will continue to fight until JBS fully ends its unfair labor practices and gives workers a contract offer that protects them, shows workers the respect they deserve, and pays them a livable wage,” said Local 7 president Kim Cordova in the press release. “This fight will continue and workers can take strength from the community members, farmers and ranchers, and elected officials who have joined them in this battle. We will not stop until JBS rectifies the suffering it has brought on these workers and the American people as a whole.”

A day earlier, on April 3, hundreds of slaughterhouse workers gathered around a red pickup truck in an expansive sandy parking lot near the gates of JBS Swift here. The strikers — overwhelmingly immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa — were finishing up the third week of their walkout over unfair labor practices and other contract issues.

“First thing I want to tell you, we are getting back to the table with the company next Thursday and Friday,” Cordova announced over a megaphone from the tailgate of the truck.

“The company walked away,” Cordova told the crowd of more than 800 workers from the day shift picket lines. “They believed that you would not walk out on strike.”

But of the 3,800 workers in the plant represented by the union, 94% did walk on March 16, marking the first major packinghouse strike in 40 years.^[1]

The workers’ action had an impact, according to the union. About 60% of the cattle earmarked for JBS went to competitors as the company tried to operate with the remaining hourly workforce and supervisors.

“The problem is the way we are being treated,” Hector Vargas told World-Outlook before the April 3 union meeting at the parking lot. “To keep up with work means taking a beating. And you cannot go to the bathroom. They make you wait a long time — if they let you go.”

Vargas, who works in the rendering department, added, “Now the company does not want to give you any personal protective supplies or equipment.  They also make a lot of money here in Colorado, but they are only throwing 60 cents at us over 3 years.”

Vargas continued, “The company used to process 2,600 head of cattle per shift,” he said. “I think they are not processing more than 600 now, with every supervisor and those who crossed.”

Ignacia Vega, a 26-year veteran of the kill floor, described how the company changed the attitudes of her coworkers. “They forced us to think different. Those of us on the kill floor have more seniority and we just supported each other. We even felt like we were spoiled by the green hats [supervisors],” she said.

“But they began to treat us just as bad,” Vega continued, “and many of us got to see that we were the same as the rest of our coworkers when we had to fight even for an apron.”

Diverse, overwhelmingly immigrant workforce

Walking in small groups in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere along the ¼-mile approach to the JBS gates, the melodic tones of people speaking in Somali, the sing-song intonation of Spanish with a Mexican accent, and the rapid-pace of Haitian Creole rose and fell.

Workers of every skin tone, age, and gender shared a smile, a “hello,” or a grateful nod with any stranger who had arrived to lend support. Many were playing their group’s choice of music from small speakers or large boom boxes on wheels.

Local 7 president Cordova walked along the line, then stopped as a group of mostly women workers, primarily Haitian and Mexican, gathered around her. During a pause in their conversation, Cordova told World-Outlook that accepting the “Last, Best, and Final” offer JBS made before the walkout would be a setback.

That offer, mirroring the national contract the UFCW signed a year ago at other JBS facilities in the United States, would reduce paid medical leave at the Greeley plant from 48 to 8 hours, Cordova said.

Since 2021, JBS has raised employee medical care contributions nationally by 37%, while wages have increased barely 1.5% on average per year, far below actual and anticipated inflation. Indeed, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently updated its U.S. inflation projections to an expected rise of 4.1% this year — far higher than earlier forecasts.

“This is JBS’ flagship plant,” Cordova said. “It offers higher pay, but we also have a higher cost of living than in other areas.” According to the company’s website, the majority of JBS U.S. facilities are in midwestern and southern states.

Cordova recounted the way in which JBS has tailored its hiring to promote division in the workforce, recruiting workers of different nationalities to make it difficult for employees to communicate among themselves. When a particular group becomes integrated into the union after a while, “they stop hiring workers of that nationality,” she said.

“This is a company that got into trouble in the past also for contracting a sanitation company that hired children and a young Haitian got hurt,” Cordova explained.

In addition, JBS had to pay up to $5.5 million to approximately 300 employees for discriminating against Blacks, Muslims, and Somali immigrants.

Squalid living conditions

UFCW Local 7, which organized the Greeley plant in 1993, accused the company in 2024 of engaging in human trafficking by luring workers via social media to come to Greeley on false promises; housing workers in squalid conditions; intimidating workers and their families; operating with dangerously high production line speeds; and withholding mail from workers.

In December 2025, three Haitian workers sued JBS in federal court, alleging their experience in Colorado has been marked by injuries, discrimination, and inhospitable living conditions.

“A hiring manager and one or more associates, including Mackenson Remy, who was not directly employed by JBS but was repeatedly permitted to access the Greeley plant, charged significant rent for squalor living conditions to newly hired immigrant workers,” said a 2024 union press release.

“UFCW Local 7 has direct reports of conditions such as 40 to 50 workers sheltered in a 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in Greeley each paying between $60 and $120/week for housing. Similar reports of other housing situations include a home in Evans, Colorado and motel in Greeley apparently paid for by JBS. Workers faced threats for non-payment of rent.”

One of the reasons for the strike, Cordova said, was to expose the industry’s “dirty little secrets.”

“During COVID, they said we were ‘essential’ workers and had to work despite the fact that we were getting sick and a number of us died,” said Alma Alvarado, a kill-floor worker standing next to Cordova. “But now we are not ‘essential’ anymore,” she added.

“They want us to pay for our safety equipment,” Alvarado went on. “The knife sharpening machine, which is a must-have for us, was broken for months and they didn’t care. They lowered the quality of the knives they give us, requiring more work to keep them sharp.

“Now we pay for knives, boots, aprons, and gloves,” Alvarado continued. “And if you have a medical appointment, nobody is organized to take your place in the line, so you can’t go.”

Workers cite safety as a central issue

In the meatpacking industry, a dull or broken knife not only makes the work harder. It can lead to serious injuries, including lacerations, amputations, and even death. So can situations where workers on the line are forced to fill in for those who have to take a break or go to an appointment, requiring them to speed up and even perform work for which they are not fully trained.

“They rely on fear to force us to speed up and sometimes do the work two people would normally do,” Alvarado said. Just recently, she explained, the company tried to pressure a young Haitian woman to do just that. Instead, she put her tray down and told them she “wasn’t going to have it.” She was punished, Alvarado said, “but she was not afraid.”

“That is all you hear and see on the work floor,” said Wendy Burgos, who works in the packaging department. “They do not care if you get hurt. One of us recently fell from a ladder. They took her to the nurse but then brought her right back to the line and told her she had to get back to work without any real treatment.”

Armstrong Joseph, a line worker who is Haitian, joined the conversation after other Haitians urged him to speak. “Yes, they always try to divide us,” he said, “but we cannot be afraid.”

As Cordova spoke, Maria, a 28-year veteran at JBS, took one of the World-Outlook reporters aside. “I’ve never seen the line speed so fast,” she said. “There is meat getting dropped all over the floor. It’s awful.” The line speed means JBS is getting their production quotas met in seven hours, she explained, so workers are short of the 40 hours they need to make a full paycheck.

“I got hurt because of the line speed,” said Anita Rojas, a Greeley-born packaging department employee who has worked at JBS for five years. “They could not care less. They brought me back to work and wanted the same production as before I got hurt. I’ve never been the same.”

“We have to fix their mess all the time,” said Javier Baca, who has worked in the packaging department for two years. “They send us product and packing materials in the wrong order, so we have to take stuff off the line, put it back on again later… Sometimes we have to find room for up to 500 boxes, move them, and then move them again.”

Voicing a complaint echoed by others, Baca explained that when something goes wrong with the machinery, workers are forced to take their breaks early. “Sometimes they force us to go to lunch before 10:00 a.m.,” he said. “Then we have to wait a long time for our next break.”

Sandlot union meeting

The group of workers around Cordova had tripled in size at this point, and more were joining in. “Let’s gather everyone and have a union meeting” in the parking lot, said Cordova. The group walked to the center of the lot and Cordova climbed on the back of a red pickup truck flanked by Joseph and Nancy Madrigal, her Haitian Creole and Spanish interpreters respectively.

After a brief update on the return to bargaining, Cordova declared, “This fight is bigger than the contract. It’s a fight to get the government to pass laws governing company practices. We are working with our congresspeople to have hearings in Washington so you can testify about what’s really going on in the plant.”

The crowd responded with a big cheer and many yelled: “I will go”, “I’ll testify.”

In her remarks, Cordova emphasized that the union may not be able to codify all the workers’ demands, such as a reasonable line speed or access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), in a new contract. That’s why, she said, it was important to collaborate with legislators to pass laws guaranteeing those rights.

“Current law says you cannot be forced to work with damaged or ill-fitting PPE,” Cordova told the crowd. “We want to change that law to provide for penalties if there are violations. And we want to bring this to the nation’s attention, to resolve the issue of workers having to pay for PPE.”

One of the more common complaints among those picketing was the company policy on use of restroom facilities during working hours. “You have the right to use the bathroom when you need to,” the union president said. “They have been disciplining people. These write-ups will not stand, but you should not have to strike for what is a human right.”

Cordova then explained one of the latest wrinkles in JBS’ ongoing effort to stymie the workers’ fight. Local 7 had rented the parking lots the picketers were using, and where the union meeting was being held. Now they would have to come up with a different plan because JBS rented those lots out from under them.

A roar of “Boooo!” went up. “Cheaters,” yelled workers in the crowd. “They got the police in their pocket!”

Workers reported and showed videos of the police arresting two workers on the picket line the day before, and one earlier that morning. In all three cases, union lawyers were able to get those detained released in short order. Workers said the incidents involved police shoving union members who were simply standing their ground on the public right-of-way.

Following the meeting, Cordova climbed down from the pickup as a swarm of workers gathered around her to ask questions.

Meanwhile, a box truck pulled into the lot and a long line formed as volunteers from Ft. Collins, about 30 miles away, began unloading donated food, diapers, formula, feminine hygiene supplies, and other goods.

According to Garrett Harper-Bischof, a Wildlands Restoration volunteer who was coordinating the distribution, the donations came from farmers and ranchers, art collectives, community groups, and churches in the Ft. Collins area.

Martin Garcia, Cordova’s executive assistant, said this was just one example of the outpouring of support the local has experienced. “Community support has been unreal,” he said. Garcia noted that solidarity has also come from UFCW locals across the country and from the local teachers’ union, which was supplying coffee and tea break stations for the picketing workers.

‘We just want an end to the injustice’

As strikers selected from the jumble of cans and packages, many were eager to continue to tell their stories.

Amina, a Somali immigrant with 10 years at JBS, said that safety was her biggest concern. “If you have a broken knife, they won’t replace it and you sometimes get written up,” she said. “Two or three write-ups, and you are fired.”

Striker Javier Gallegos has also been at JBS for 10 years. “This is a big challenge,” he said. “JBS is an enormous company. They have tremendous resources.”

In an interview with Forbes, Cordova pointed out that JBS Swift, along with Cargill, Tyson, and National Beef, control about 85% of the market for protein production worldwide. Their virtual monopoly has an impact not only on employees, but on farmers and consumers as well.^[2]

“We just want our rights to be respected,” said Irma, who has worked at JBS for 29 years.

She and her coworkers — Jose, with 28 years in the plant, and Antonio, with just three — pointed to the company’s disregard for workers who become injured. “You can have a golf-ball sized welt and they just put ice on it and send you back to the line,” said Antonio.

“Sana, sana, colita de rana [Get well, get well, little frog’s tail],” said Jose, citing a nursery rhyme. All three burst out laughing at the comparison between comforting a child with a “boo-boo” to a worker who may have lost a finger or be suffering from repetitive motion injuries.

Then, adopting a more serious tone, Antonio added, “In my three years, I’ve seen the line speed go from 300 cows an hour to 400. If you can’t keep up, you get threats. We just want an end to the injustice.”

Questions about what could be achieved through the strike

Many of the workers World-Outlook interviewed on April 3 expressed determination to continue the strike until they could force the company to offer a better contract, addressing their concerns about job safety, wages, health care, and being treated with dignity.

Others, however, were not as optimistic.

“We are holding, but it is difficult,” said Hector Vargas, speaking to World-Outlook before the union announced the parking lot meeting. “You do hear some people faltering. They have not heard from the union yet. We don’t know what’s going on. We have not had a meeting yet.”

Vargas and two other strikers said that after three weeks on the picket line there was no motion toward forcing the company to meet their demands even part way.

Several workers said the $800 weekly pay they were getting from the union strike fund while picketing was a huge help. But some said it was not enough to make ends meet for themselves and their families.

Another striker, who asked not to be identified, explained that he had not experienced the same abuses as others. “The main reason I’m staying out is so that my brothers and sisters get what we deserve,” he said. “My supervisors were good to me. I could go back, but I can’t leave the others behind.”

During the April 3 meeting in the parking lot, Cordova assured strikers that their health insurance had not been cancelled.

At least one worker, however, described a different experience. “When I went to get prescription drugs from the pharmacy earlier this week, I was told my health insurance was cancelled,” Marta Morales told World-Outlook. “I’ll try again after what the union president said. But I’m not sure.”

There was no indication during the April 3 union meeting, or prior interviews on the picket line, that Local 7 would call off the strike the next day.

In an April 4 news release, JBS said it had received formal notification from UFCW Local 7 that it is ending its strike and has made an unconditional offer for employees to return to work on Tuesday, April 7, one day after the Easter Monday holiday. The company said its “Last, Best and Final offer” remains on the table.

“Please be advised that, on behalf of all workers currently on strike in the bargaining unit, I am making an unconditional offer to return to work effective Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 5 a.m.,” said a letter to the company signed by Local 7 president Cordova. “I anticipate workers will return to all regularly scheduled shifts commencing on or after said date and time.” JBS provided a copy of the letter to the media, and CBS News published it on the evening of April 4.

Some supporters of the strike were surprised by the announcement.

“I’m kind of confused,” Jenifer Montes told 9News, the NBC TV affiliate in Denver, on April 4. Montes, who said she has a parent working at JBS, has been handing out water and food to strikers on the picket line.

“It was just really a shock and everybody’s so confused,” Montes continued. “We were just prepared, as a community, to go back out there on Tuesday. They were preparing the crowd and strikers to go back and keep fighting and don’t give up, and now it just kind of feels like they gave up.”

NOTES

[1] In August 1985, UFCW Local P-9 in Austin, Minnesota, which had agreed to concessions in its contract with Hormel a decade earlier, struck over wages and working conditions that resulted in increased injuries. Hormel was forced to shut the plant down as striking employees mobilized retirees and community members in support of their walkout. Workers organized roving picket lines and rallies, gaining solidarity across the region.

As the strike picked up momentum, it gained national attention, leading to a widely publicized boycott of Hormel products.

When Hormel reopened the plant in early January 1986, strikers turned out in the hundreds, blocking access to the factory for a week. On January 21, the Minnesota governor deployed the National Guard to back Hormell and protect strikebreakers. About 500 union members and a similar number of non-union new hires crossed the picket lines.

Six months later, the national UFCW ordered Local P-9 to end the strike. When local officials refused, the UFCW forced the local into receivership. In September 1986, the new local leadership agreed to a concession contract with Hormel.

The breaking of the strike was a major blow to organized labor, already reeling from the defeats of air traffic controllers during the 1981 PATCO strike, Arizona copper miners in 1983, and a wave of concession contracts.

[2] JBS Swift, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., operates nine U.S. facilities that employ more than 37,000 people. The parent company’s website claims that JBS is the “#1 global beef producer.” The Greeley plant handles about 8 percent of the beef processed in the United States.

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