Workers plan to halt strike at major US meatpacking plant and resume negotiations

Workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants plan to return to work next week and halt a three-week strike in order to resume negotiations with the plant's owner

Workers at one of the nation's largest meatpacking plants have agreed to return to work and halt a three-week strike after plant owner JBS USA agreed to resume negotiations, labor union representatives announced Saturday.

The strike by thousands of workers at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, began on March 16 in coordination with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union in a bid for higher wages and better health care.

The strike came as U.S. cattle numbers hit a 75-year-old low this year, a decline driven in part by drought and low prices offered to ranchers. Meanwhile, beef prices have soared to record levels, adding to economic anxiety in the U.S.

The union said in a statement that workers will return to work Tuesday morning after plant owner JBS USA agreed to reopen talks later in the week.

“Workers remain united and will continue to fight,” said local union president Kim Cordova in a statement.