FORT MORGAN, Colo. — The union representing nearly 2,000 workers at the Cargill meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan said workers will soon be able to return to their jobs after members overwhelmingly approved a new contract Monday.
The announcement from Teamsters Local 455 marks the end of an 88-day lockout that began back in May 20, when the largest private company in the U.S. and one of the largest meat processors in the country locked out 1,700 of its workers, citing safety and operational impacts if employees suddenly decided to walk off the job after contract negotiations stalled in February.
Maggie Bryan looked into what this means for workers and the city of Fort Morgan in the video below:
In a social media post, union representatives said they would be in touch with workers about the return-to-work process, which they said will happen in phases over the next 30 days. They said they expected Cargill to do the same.
When Denver7 spoke to union representatives back in May, a representative said their beef with Cargill centered around working conditions for employees, which they alleged included working in 90-degree rooms with high humidity and without appropriate breaks.
The representative also said contract negotiations also included asking for fair compensation that reflects the work being done, and more hours offered to staff.
The impact of the lockout has stretched beyond the plant's gates. As the city's largest utility customer, the idled plant cost Fort Morgan an estimated $3 million in lost revenue as production at the facility stalled, according to the city. As losses mounted, Fort Morgan City Manager Brent Nation said he ordered a 5% spending cut across all city departments and froze new hires this summer.
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Cargill lockout forces Fort Morgan to prepare for 'generational' budget hit
"This has been the most significant thing that's happened in Fort Morgan, you know, in the last close to 40 years," he said. "We were projecting if we got to 120 days, which would have been Friday, that we would be somewhere real close to about $3 million in lost revenue for the year."
Nation said he was preparing for a 15% across-the-board budget cut if the dispute stretched into the new year. Now he said that's something he no longer has to worry about.
"I just felt that if this continued past January one, it was probably going to be more of a situation of if Cargill even reopened the facility altogether," Nation said.
A failed vote on a new contract earlier this month kept Nation and the rest of city council on edge as the financial toll of the lockout was becoming more apparent. But Monday’s announcement is likely to ease some of those concerns. Nation said he is confident the city can recover from the financial losses without residents feeling the effects.
"I'm very happy that we have an agreement and we can get back to hopefully some normalcy around the city here shortly," he said.
“While this contract is not perfect, it is a legally binding agreement that provides security for the more than 1,700 men and women who keep Cargill running,” a union representative wrote on social media. “Teamsters Local 455 will continue to be on the ground in Fort Morgan to build strength and solidarity at Cargill and to enforce the terms and conditions of the new agreement."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Cargill said they were pleased that workers voted to overwhelmingly approve the new labor agreement, saying they will work closely with the union on a safe and phased return to operations.
“Following an extended pause, employees will receive the training and support needed to return safely, while teams ensure the facility is ready to resume production,” the statement from Cargill reads. “Employee safety, food safety and operational readiness will guide every step of the process. We look forward to welcoming employees back and moving forward together.”
Specific details of the new contract were not immediately released.
