Workers Rise in Colorado: A Historic Moment for Meatpacking

Across the border in Greeley, Colorado, 3,800 meatpacking workers have walked off the job in what is now the largest strike in the U.S. meatpacking industry in decades and the first of its kind in over 40 years. For five days, thousands of workers, most of them immigrants representing more than 50 languages, have stood shoulder to shoulder on picket lines outside a JBS facility, demanding fairness, dignity, and respect.

Why This Matters to Us

This fight matters deeply to us.

UFCW is an international union, and we strategically organize and coordinate across borders. The issues faced by workers in Greeley – wages that don’t keep pace with inflation, demanding working conditions, and the struggle for respect and dignity – mirror many of the challenges Canadian workers experience.

This shared struggle is one of the key advantages of being part of a global union.

This strike is also a particularly important moment for the food processing sector, as we approach upcoming bargaining cycles with Sofina, Olymel, Cargill, and JBS here in Alberta. UFCW 401 members may face potential labour disputes, and the lessons and solidarity demonstrated in Colorado strengthen our strategy, resolve, and unity.

The Reality at JBS

JBS is the largest meatpacking corporation in the world and one of four companies responsible for 85% of U.S. beef production. It employs roughly 25,000 workers across nine facilities in the United States, many of them immigrants. In Canada, JBS also operates major facilities, including its Brooks, Alberta plant.

Yet despite its global scale and profitability, workers in Greeley have been without a contract for over eight months. The company is proposing wage increases of less than 2% per year, far below inflation and nowhere near enough to support workers’ health, their families, or their futures.

Workers are also fighting for safer working conditions, access to life-saving safety equipment, and fairer healthcare coverage. As UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova has made clear, JBS continues to push rising healthcare costs onto workers while offering wages that fail to meet the realities of today’s economy.

This strike is also unfolding in a broader context. JBS recently agreed to pay $83.5 million in a price-fixing settlement alongside other major meatpackers. Meanwhile, beef prices have risen more than 15% over the past year, underscoring the widening gap between corporate profits and the conditions frontline workers face.

President of UFCW Local 7, Kim Cordova.President of UFCW Local 7, Kim Cordova.

Workers in Greeley have also raised concerns about retaliation against those who speak out and organize. 

This strike is not a small or routine action; it is an unfair labour dispute that underscores the seriousness of the workers’ fight for fairness and respect.

Solidarity Beyond Borders

Despite these challenges, workers are standing strong. Their courage deserves our attention and our solidarity.

UFCW Local 401 stands in full solidarity with our brothers and sisters at UFCW Local 7.

If you are able, we encourage members to support these workers and their families during this strike by making a donation to their strike efforts.

As union members, we know that gains are never handed to us; they are won through collective action, persistence, and unity. The struggle in Greeley is not isolated. It is part of a broader fight for fairness in our industry, one that crosses borders, languages, and communities.

We encourage all UFCW 401 members to stand in solidarity with these workers.

Talk about their struggle. Share their story. Reflect on the importance of our own collective agreements and the protections we have fought hard to secure.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

Posted on: March 20,2026