JBS Meatpacking Workers Vote 99% to Strike

When 99% of any group agrees on anything, it's worth paying attention. On February 4, 2026, roughly 3,800 meatpacking workers at the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado did something that has never happened in the facility's history: they overwhelmingly authorized an unfair labor practice strike. The margin wasn't close. It wasn't contentious. It was near-unanimous rage.

UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova put it plainly: "This strike authorization is the direct result of JBS's unlawful and bad-faith conduct." Worker Leticia Avalos echoed the sentiment: "We have been bargaining for eight months and JBS has prevented us from reaching a contract. JBS has left us no alternative but to authorize a strike." A facility that processes up to 5,600 head of cattle per day and speaks 57 different languages just spoke with one voice.

What Are Workers Actually Fighting For?

The union's contract with JBS expired in July 2025, and eight months of bargaining have produced more frustration than progress. Workers are asking for a two-year contract instead of the three-year deal JBS is pushing, a meaningful wage increase beyond the company's proposed 90 cents per hour, and an end to practices that the union says are making the job more dangerous by the day.

The grievance list reads like an OSHA inspector's nightmare. Workers cite accelerating chain speeds that create dangerous injury conditions, reduced work hours that cut into take-home pay, improper wage deductions, and charges for damaged personal protective equipment — yes, the company reportedly bills workers when their safety gear wears out. One 24-year employee summed up the mood: "Decent human dignity is what we're asking for."

JBS, for its part, says it has presented "a comprehensive offer with meaningful wage increases and a pension plan," and that workers at other locations have accepted similar terms. The company expressed hope the union would accept so it can "continue focusing on providing good-paying jobs." But when your workers vote 99-to-1 against you, the PR spin starts to lose altitude.

Why Is the Union Calling This an 'Unfair Labor Practice' Strike?

This distinction matters, and it matters a lot. An unfair labor practice (ULP) strike is legally different from an economic strike. When workers walk out over ULPs, they have stronger legal protections — the employer can't permanently replace them. And UFCW Local 7 has been building its case methodically.

Over the course of negotiations, the union has filed multiple ULP charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The allegations include regressive bargaining — where the company makes worse offers as talks continue — threats to withhold bonuses and lump-sum pension payments if workers exercise their right to strike, firing a bargaining committee member, and punishing workers for filing grievances. The union also accuses JBS of making unilateral changes to working conditions without notifying the union — a textbook labor law violation.

Union General Counsel Mathew Shechter didn't mince words: "They're fed up with JBS's unfair labor practices, going backwards on what they're saying at the table." Cordova added that "JBS can either return to the bargaining table prepared to negotiate in good faith... or it can face the consequences of its own decisions." A seven-day strike notice must be issued before any walkout begins, and as of publication, no notice has been filed. But the clock is ticking.

What Does JBS's Track Record Look Like?

If this strike authorization feels like a powder keg, the fuse has been burning for years. The JBS Greeley plant — flagship U.S. beef facility for the world's largest meat processor — has accumulated a record of labor and safety controversies that would make most corporate PR teams reach for the emergency exits.

Start with COVID-19. In 2020, the Greeley plant became a national cautionary tale when an outbreak killed at least six workers and infected more than 290 others. Colorado led the nation in meatpacking COVID deaths, and the union accused JBS of encouraging employees to work while sick. OSHA's punishment? A $15,615 fine — roughly the price of a mid-range used car. Workers and union members protested the penalty as an insult to the families of the dead.

In 2021, a worker at the Greeley facility fell into a vat of chemicals and died after JBS failed to properly secure equipment during installation. OSHA cited the company for repeated safety failures and levied fines totaling $58,709. That same year, JBS paid $5.5 million to settle EEOC claims that it denied Muslim workers prayer breaks during Ramadan.

Then came the child labor scandal. In 2023, the Department of Labor discovered that Packers Sanitation Services Inc. — a JBS contractor — had employed at least 102 children, some as young as 13, to clean slaughterhouses overnight across eight states, including the Greeley plant. PSSI was fined $1.5 million. JBS later reached a $4 million settlement with the Department of Labor in January 2025 to address illegal child labor at its facilities nationwide.

And most recently, in December 2025, more than 1,000 Haitian workers filed a class-action lawsuit alleging JBS recruited them via TikTok with promises of jobs and housing, then subjected them to discriminatory and unsafe conditions. Workers allege the company ran line speeds as high as 440 head of cattle per hour on the majority-Haitian shift — well above the 390 maximum safe speed — while the non-Haitian shift averaged 300. Some workers reported being denied bathroom breaks and left with permanently disfigured hands from repetitive stress.

A whistleblower lawsuit filed in August 2025 further alleged that JBS management pressured instructors to falsify safety training records to rush workers onto production lines faster. JBS denied the claims in court filings.

How Big Is JBS, and Why Does This Strike Vote Matter?

JBS S.A. is not some regional slaughterhouse. It is the largest meat processing company on Earth, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, with trailing twelve-month revenue of approximately $83 billion as of September 2025. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025, and its subsidiary Pilgrim's Pride was the largest single donor to Trump's 2025 inauguration at $5 million — more than Meta, Amazon, and Apple combined.

That political connection has raised eyebrows. Shortly after the inauguration, the USDA under the new administration moved to extend line speed waivers for meatpacking plants and began drafting rules to codify higher maximum line speeds permanently. Worker advocates call it a direct quid pro quo. JBS's parent company doubled its lobbying spend in early 2025, pouring more than $500,000 into the effort in just the first quarter.

The Greeley plant is one of the largest beef facilities in North America, capable of processing up to 5,600 cattle daily and employing roughly 3,800 workers. It is also the largest employer in Weld County. A strike here wouldn't just disrupt JBS's supply chain — it would ripple through the U.S. beef market and test whether meatpacking workers in 2026 have the leverage to demand better from a $83 billion corporation.

Is Meatpacking Still One of the Most Dangerous Jobs in America?

By every available measure, yes. The meatpacking industry consistently ranks among the most hazardous in the country. A USDA study found that 81% of poultry workers and 46% of pork workers face elevated risk of musculoskeletal disorders. OSHA data shows an average of 27 workers per day suffer amputations or hospitalizations across industries covered by federal jurisdiction, with meat and poultry plants among the worst offenders.

More than 900 out of roughly 1,800 severe meatpacking injuries logged between 2015 and 2023 involved workers' fingers and fingertips — including amputations. JBS specifically recorded the eighth-highest rate of severe injuries in the country across all industries, not just food processing. The total recordable injury rate for animal slaughtering and processing is 5.4 per 100 workers, nearly double the private-sector average of 3.0.

Workers at the Greeley plant have described conditions where line speeds prevent proper sanitization of equipment, the pace of work causes chronic repetitive stress injuries, and the pressure to keep production moving overrides basic human needs like bathroom breaks. The lawsuit from Haitian workers described one plaintiff whose fingers became permanently frozen in a clawing position from gripping a meat hook for hours without rest. This is not a relic from Upton Sinclair's era. This is 2026.

What Happens Next?

A strike authorization is not a strike. It gives UFCW Local 7 leadership the green light to call a walkout, but the timing remains at their discretion. Under federal law, a seven-day notice must be given before any strike begins, and as of this writing, no notice has been issued. That said, Cordova made clear the union is "prepared to take immediate and serious action" if JBS doesn't return to the table with a legitimate offer.

The stakes are enormous on both sides. For [JBS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBS_S.A.), a work stoppage at its flagship U.S. beef plant would disrupt processing capacity, spike costs, and land squarely in the headlines at a moment when the company is already facing lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny, and questions about its political connections. For the 3,800 workers, a strike means lost wages and an uncertain timeline — but many feel they've already been squeezed to the breaking point.

The broader context is worth watching too. Meatpacking workers have historically been among the most exploited segments of the American labor force — largely immigrant, largely low-wage, working in conditions that would shock most consumers if they could see them. A successful strike at Greeley would send a signal far beyond Colorado: that even workers in one of the toughest, most thankless industries in the country can draw a line and hold it.

Or, as one worker put it: decent human dignity. That shouldn't require a 99% vote.

People Also Asked

Q: How many workers are employed at the JBS Greeley plant?

A: Approximately 3,800 workers are employed at the JBS meatpacking facility in Greeley, Colorado. The workforce speaks roughly 57 different languages, and JBS is the largest employer in Weld County. The plant can process up to 5,600 head of cattle per day, making it one of the largest beef processing facilities in North America. Workers are represented by UFCW Local 7, which covers 22,000 workers across Colorado and Wyoming.

Q: What are unfair labor practice charges, and what has JBS been accused of?

A: Unfair labor practice charges are formal complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that an employer has violated federal labor law. UFCW Local 7 has filed multiple ULP charges against JBS, including regressive bargaining (making progressively worse offers), threatening to withhold bonuses if workers strike, firing a bargaining committee member, and retaliating against workers who filed grievances. A ULP strike provides workers with stronger legal protections than an ordinary economic strike, including the right to reclaim their jobs afterward.

Q: Has the JBS Greeley plant faced other legal or safety issues?

A: Extensively. The facility has been cited by OSHA for COVID-19 safety failures that killed at least six workers, a 2021 worker death from chemical vat exposure, a $4 million child labor settlement, a class-action lawsuit by over 1,000 Haitian workers alleging discriminatory conditions after TikTok recruitment, whistleblower claims of falsified safety training, and allegations of human trafficking. The plant's parent company, JBS S.A., is the world's largest meat processor with annual revenues exceeding $83 billion.

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