JBS USA reaches collective bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 7

JBS (JBS) USA announced Sunday that it has reached a new collective bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 7, allowing the Greeley beef production facility to return to normal operations and providing team members with clarity and stability after weeks of uncertainty. The agreement, which runs through April 2028, reflects the same economic framework JBS USA presented in its Last, Best and Final offer-an offer that remained unchanged economically throughout the bargaining process. While JBS USA is pleased that an agreement has finally been reached, the company expressed disappointment that UFCW Local 7 leadership chose to eliminate the historic pension benefit that was part of the national agreement negotiated last year in partnership with UFCW International. The company is relieved to move forward and restore stability for team members. At the same time, JBS USA strongly disagrees with Local 7 leadership’s decision to forgo the historic pension that was secured for workers at other major JBS facilities across the country. The pension was designed in partnership with UFCW International to strengthen long-term retirement security for the workforce. Instead, Local 7 chose to shift those dollars into short-term wage increases-an approach that appears to prioritize the Local 7 leadership’s immediate agenda over the long-term financial future of team members. As part of the agreement, Local 7 is also withdrawing seven alleged unfair labor practice charges-further underscoring that this was a strike about the economics of the deal, not to stop ULPs as the union repeatedly claimed. Despite this, Local 7 continued to make public statements that did not reflect the facts and contributed to unnecessary confusion among team members. The strike ultimately ended without any major changes to the company’s offer, and the final agreement remains entirely within the economic framework JBS USA presented months ago, with no economic terms added or expanded from the company’s Last, Best and Final offer. Instead, UFCW Local 7 opted to reallocate pension contributions to wages.