By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Cargill employees voted to end a labor dispute that halted cattle slaughtering at a beef plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado, since April and left about 1,700 workers without pay, the company and workers’ union said on Monday.
The U.S. beef industry is in a period of upheaval as prices have soared to record highs for consumers this year while the nation’s cattle herd shrank to its smallest size in 75 years.
Meatpackers are reporting losses in their beef businesses and closing plants because soaring cattle costs have outpaced gains from higher meat prices.
In Fort Morgan, workers will return to the plant around August 24 and slaughtering is expected to restart the week of September 7, Cargill said.
The company stopped paying plant workers in May after suspending cattle slaughtering at the facility a month earlier in a dispute over pay.
“Our members voted overwhelmingly to go back into the building,” said Dean Modecker, who runs the Teamsters Local 455 union that represents workers. “We have spoken to the employer, and the agreement will hold.”
(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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