Around 3,800 union workers at the JBS-owned Swift Beef plant in Greeley plan to strike next week after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the meat processing giant.

The strike is scheduled begin at 5:30 a.m. Monday, the union said in a press release. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 accused JBS of unfair labor practices and of walking away from bargaining. The release said the offer proposed by JBS did not include wages high enough to offset rising living and health care costs and also did not take “life-saving safety equipment seriously.”

Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 president, said in the release that JBS is ignoring worker concerns about safety and health.

“The goal of negotiations is never to go on strike, but when the Company violates workers’ rights and ignores workers’ concerns about safety and health, the Company gives workers no choice but to stand together in solidarity and show the Company that they cannot be silenced,” Cordova said.

The union also accused JBS of threatening to withhold a bonus and lump-sum pension payment if workers strike and of retaliating against employees.

Last month, 99% of workers voted to authorize the strike, the union said, which came after eight months of bargaining. Since the contract expired in July, employees have kept working under a contract extension agreement, which the local union notified JBS it would be canceling just before midnight on Sunday, paving the way for the strike.

Hailey Fishel, a JBS USA spokesperson, said in an email that there has been no retaliation against employees and said the company stands by the offer it presented.

“It is strong, fair, and consistent with the historic national contract reached in 2025 in partnership with UFCW International — an agreement that has already delivered higher wages, a secure pension, and long‑term financial stability for team members at our other major facilities,” Fishel said. 

Fishel also said base hourly wages at the Greeley plant have increased by about 46% since 2019, which has outpaced the 25% inflation in the Front Range region during the same time period.

In a letter sent to the union, Matthew J. Lovell, head of labor relations for JBS USA, wrote that the union walked away from negotiations, not the company. He also said that by rejecting the offer the company made without letting employees vote, the union is denying employees a full and fair opportunity to decide if they wanted to accept the offer.

Fishel also said via email that JBS will temporarily shift production to facilities with excess processing capacity during the strike to avoid supply chain issues.

JBS is the number one producer of beef in the country, according to its website. JBS USA is headquartered in Greeley, and the Greeley plant is considered its flagship plant.