JBS beef meatpackers in Colorado plan strike over pay and company charges for protective equipment

JBS is the number one beef producer in the U.S.
(JBS photo)

American consumers are paying at or near record prices for beef, while nearly 3,800 workers at a JBS beef meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, say little of the extra cash Americans are shelling out is going into their wallets, and they're planning to go on strike next week, reports Tom Polansek of Reuters.

The planned strike ‌"pits a workforce made up largely of immigrants against the world's largest meat company, and it has already driven ranchers to deliver cattle to alternate facilities," Polansek explains. "Meatpackers, including JBS, benefit from climbing prices but also must pay ​record costs to buy cattle to slaughter."

Despite livestock costs, JBS is still posting significant profits. Polansek notes, "JBS in November reported third-quarter profit of $581 million, ⁠down from $693 million a year earlier.

Kim Cordova, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union that represents workers in Greeley, told Reuters, "While customers are paying more than they ever have, none ​of that is trickling down to the frontline worker that's actually doing all the heavy work."

Cordova said JBS fails to adhere to labor laws and has "not negotiated fairly on a new contract over the past eight months," Polansek reports. She told Reuters that workers want a wage that helps them keep up with inflation, and they "want the company to ​stop charging them for replacing protective equipment they wear to do their jobs safely."

For now, JBS has denied Cordova's claims and is standing by its contract offer. JBS told Polansek, "It is strong, fair, and consistent with the historic national contract reached in 2025."

Meanwhile, cattle feeders are moving where they plan to sell their livestock. One feeder told Polansek, "We've ​got way more kill space than finished cattle ready ​to slaughter."