Cargill workers in Fort Morgan remain locked out as contract negotiations are scheduled to continue

Hundreds of workers remained outside the Cargill meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan Tuesday, one week after the company locked employees out during an ongoing contract dispute.

Workers gathered outside the facility carrying signs as negotiations between Cargill and Teamsters Local 455 continue.

The union says about 90 percent of workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer earlier this month.

Cargill says it locked workers out over concerns that a potential strike could impact food safety and animal welfare at the plant, which processes about 2,500 cattle each day.

Union representatives dispute that claim, saying the company had already started reducing operations before talks broke down.

About 1,700 workers are affected by the lockout.

Additional negotiations between Cargill and the union are scheduled for Wednesday, May 27.

Fort Morgan can take a financial hit from this with reduced tax revenue from the lockout. That information won’t be known until all the calculations come in, which will be in early July. Utility payments will be lower as well, since Cargill isn’t purchasing the 2-million gallons of water needed per day, or using the equivalent of a third of the city’s electricity, during the lockout.

The plant in Fort Morgan had been operating at 75% capacity, just like other plants across the nation, due to the low cattle herds. Demand for beef remains high despite the soaring fuel costs, as consumers aren’t seeing any price relief at this time.

Empty parking lot at the Cargill plant in Fort Morgan