GREELEY, COLORADO — On April 4, 2026, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 announced it was ending a strike against the meatpacking giant JBS Swift here “after JBS agreed to return to the negotiating table,” according to the union’s press release. Local 7 said bargaining has been set for April 9-10, which was the basis for the decision to return to work on April 7. There has been no other motion toward resolution of the issues that sparked the strike. This article provides eyewitness coverage from the picket lines that World-Outlook reporters visited on April 3, the day before the walkout ended.

April 6, 2026

“The company walked away,” Cordova told the crowd of more than 800 workers from the day shift picket lines. “They believed that you would not walk out on strike.”

But of the 3,800 workers in the plant represented by the union, 94% did walk on March 16, marking the first major packinghouse strike in 40 years.[1]

The workers’ action had an impact, according to the union. About 60% of the cattle earmarked for JBS went to competitors as the company tried to operate with the remaining hourly workforce and supervisors.

“The problem is the way we are being treated,” Hector Vargas told World-Outlook before the April 3 union meeting at the parking lot. “To keep up with work means taking a beating. And you cannot go to the bathroom. They make you wait a long time — if they let you go.”

  • torik
    3·
    2 days ago

    “To keep up with work means taking a beating. And you cannot go to the bathroom. They make you wait a long time — if they let you go.”

    This is the point. They are applying factory farming techniques to people.