By Yvonne Hayes and Francisco Picado

On April 12, 2026, members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 ratified a new agreement with the JBS Swift beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado. A union press release announcing the vote — with 93% in favor — said the contract contained “all gains, countless improvements, and not a single concession.”

“This … is a testament to the incredible resolve of our members,” said Local 7 president Kim Cordova. “These workers stood together on the picket line for three weeks, through extreme weather, because they knew their worth and refused to be disrespected.”

About 94 percent of the 3,800 union members at the plant struck JBS on March 16 after negotiations over a new contract stalled. This was the first strike in the U.S. meatpacking industry in 40 years and the first one ever against JBS in Colorado.

On the top of the list of workers’ grievances were safety concerns and being forced to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE), denial of rest breaks, and rising healthcare costs alongside stagnating wages. On April 4, following three weeks on the picket lines, the union announced the end of the strike after JBS agreed to resume talks.

The two-year agreement provides for an immediate pay raise of $.70/hour with two additional raises of $.40/hour each in July of this year and in July 2027. In addition, there is a $750 signing bonus and another $500 bonus in April next year. The union also cited protections for its members from increases in healthcare costs contained in the contract.

New language strengthens the company obligation to cover PPE costs. Meatpacking is one of the more dangerous industries in the United States. Workers are exposed to a multitude of physical hazards (e.g., noise, machinery, repetitive motion, slippery floors), chemical hazards (e.g., refrigerant ammonia), and biological hazards (from handling live animals and exposure to feces and blood).

Company claims it was right all along

JBS provided a completely different narrative about the settlement. “The strike ultimately ended without any major changes to the company’s offer, and the final agreement remains entirely within the economic framework JBS USA presented months ago,” the company stated in its April 12 press release. “As part of the agreement, Local 7 is also withdrawing seven alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) charges — further underscoring that this was a strike about the economics of the deal, not to stop ULPs as the union repeatedly claimed.”

JBS alleged that the “UFCW Local 7 leadership chose to eliminate the historic pension benefit that was part of the national agreement negotiated last year in partnership with the UFCW International.” JBS further claimed this showed the UFCW local leadership had prioritized its own goals over the interests of the membership.

“We never had a pension plan here, not since 1993,” responded Cordova, speaking to the Denver ABC affiliate.

“It was Local 7 that proposed a pension benefit,” she said. “The company countered with what they offered other local unions around the country, but they offered a pension plan to also secure low wage increases and to shift the cost of health care onto employees across the country, and that was not going to happen here.”

She pushed back on JBS’ claim that UFCW Local 7 is withdrawing seven unfair labor practice charges.

“We did not agree to withdraw two labor charges,” Cordova said. “There was one of our bargaining committee members [who] was terminated, and we did not agree to withdraw that charge, as well as the charge over retro[active] pay. So, they offered their non-union folks retro pay while they took retro pay from us.”

The two sides also signed a separate Letter of Understanding, which added French and Haitian Creole to the list of languages — currently English, Spanish, Somali, and Burmese — in which the contract must be printed. This reflects not only the diversity of the workplace but the active role that workers of many nationalities played in the strike.

The new agreement covers a relatively short term, just two years. During an April 3 interview with World-Outlook, Cordova had explained that the union was closely watching fluctuations in the cattle market and other economic trends, as well as possible changes in the U.S. political landscape that could impact future bargaining. She said all these factors would go into their decision on the length of any agreement.

All this indicates that the fight is not over, even though this battle — initiated when the workers walked out — has ended. The meatpackers in Greeley, along with the community that came out to support them, forged new alliances and learned lessons they will undoubtedly need to draw on in the future.

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