April 5, 2026

Workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants have agreed to return to work and halt a three-week strike after plant owner JBS USA agreed to resume negotiations, labor union representatives announced Saturday.

The strike by thousands of workers at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, began on March 16 in coordination with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union in a bid for higher wages and better health care.

MEATPACKING STRIKE HALTED — Thousands of Swift Beef workers in Colorado end three-week walkout after JBS USA agrees to reopen negotiations amid soaring beef prices and tight cattle supply. The rare U.S. slaughterhouse strike, the first since 1985, spotlighted fierce battles over paltry wage hikes under inflation, workplace retaliation claims, and the crushing pressure of a 75-year cattle low driving industry chaos. JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker and Greeley’s top employer, now races to ramp back operations, but the union warns the fight isn’t over as beef prices hit record highs and supply chains hang in the balance.

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