By Tracy Ross and Tamara Chuang/Colorado Sun
A day after rejecting Cargill Meat Solutions “last, best and final offer,” more than 1,700 union workers employed at the Fort Morgan plant found themselves locked out Wednesday by the company.
“They voted 90% against the contract. At that point, the employer notified us that at 12 o’clock last night, we would be locked out,” said Dean Modecker, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 455, which represents the Cargill workers. “What that meant is that 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 at the facility even though our members just want to work.”
Negotiations between the company and union to replace a contract that expired in February broke down about four weeks ago. Essentially, workers were told to stay home with pay as negotiations continued. That pay ended last night, Modecker said.
He was unsure how the plant was keeping up with processing beef for the past month “and we usually run 2,500 heads a day,” he said. Union workers are employed throughout the processing line, from the kill floor to cutting steaks.
In an email to The Colorado Sun, Cargill spokesperson Hli Yang said the company initiated the lockout because “continued uncertainty around a potential work stoppage creates challenges to operating safely, responsibly and reliably.”