Cargill Locks Out 1,700 Fort Morgan Workers After Union Rejects Contract Offer
Why It Matters
The labor dispute at Cargill’s Fort Morgan beef processing plant in Colorado has left more than 1,700 union employees without work or pay after the company initiated a lockout Wednesday, one day after workers overwhelmingly rejected the company’s proposed contract. The shutdown raises questions about beef supply chains at a time when U.S. cattle inventories are already at historically low levels.
What Happened
Workers represented by Teamsters Local 455 voted to reject Cargill Meat Solutions’ contract offer — described by the company as its “last, best and final” proposal — by a margin of roughly 90%. Hours later, the company barred employees from returning to the facility.
“The minute we left the parking lot last night, they put up the barriers. They put out security and they’re refusing to allow us back,” said Dean Modecker, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 455. He said workers were simply looking to return to their jobs.
The underlying contract expired in February, and formal negotiations collapsed approximately four weeks ago. During that interim period, employees had been told to remain home while still receiving pay — a situation that ended the night of the lockout, cutting off income for those 1,700-plus workers.
Cargill spokesperson Hli Yang said in a statement that the company moved to lock out employees because ongoing uncertainty over a potential work stoppage made it difficult to operate the plant “safely, responsibly and reliably.” Yang added that Cargill views the lockout as a difficult outcome and said the company remains committed to reaching an agreement with the union.
By the Numbers
- 1,700+ — union workers locked out at the Fort Morgan facility
- 90% — share of union members who voted against the proposed contract
- $33.4 million — the estimated value of Cargill’s five-year contract offer, per the company
- $23.50 — current base hourly wage at the plant, which Cargill says represents a 53% increase since 2018
- 2,500 — cattle typically processed per day at the facility, according to Modecker
AI Monitoring Technology Adds Tension
The labor standoff comes shortly after Cargill introduced an artificial intelligence-based monitoring system called CarVe at the Fort Morgan plant. The technology uses overhead cameras to track worker performance in real time, relaying data on factors such as work pace, knife sharpness, and what the company characterizes as employees’ “emotional behavior” — including influences from outside the workplace.
Cargill has framed CarVe as a tool to improve both yield and worker safety, arguing that even a 1% gain in beef yield could preserve hundreds of millions of pounds of product annually amid tight national cattle supplies. Critics have raised concerns about the scope of the surveillance and its implications for workers on the production floor.
Cattle that would have been processed at Fort Morgan have been redirected to other Cargill facilities as the company works to fulfill commitments to producers and customers. The company said it does not expect material supply disruptions as a result of the lockout.
Zoom Out
The Fort Morgan dispute is the second major labor action at a large Colorado meatpacking facility in recent months. Earlier this year, roughly 3,800 workers at a JBS USA plant in Greeley walked off the job seeking higher wages and improved conditions. That strike lasted approximately three weeks before a new contract was ratified. The parallel situations reflect broader pressures across the U.S. meatpacking industry, where workers have pushed back on compensation and working conditions even as companies face margin pressure from constrained livestock supplies and elevated consumer beef prices.
Colorado’s agricultural and food-processing workforce has drawn increased attention this year. Volunteer networks in Durango and elsewhere have also mobilized amid immigration enforcement concerns that affect Latino workers who make up a significant share of the meatpacking labor force statewide.
What’s Next
Negotiations between Cargill and Teamsters Local 455 are described as ongoing, though no timeline for resumed talks or a resolution has been announced. Workers will remain locked out — and without pay — for the duration of the standoff. The union has not announced plans for formal strike action, and the company has not indicated when it expects the Fort Morgan plant to resume full operations.