More than 1,100 Fort Morgan Cargill employees vote to return to work

Cargill’s beef processing plant in Fort Morgan is preparing to reopen after Teamsters Local 455 members voted Monday (August 17) to approve a new labor agreement.

The vote came after workers circulated a petition calling for another chance to consider the contract, which was originally rejected on August 3^rd. More than 1,000 employees signed the petition in about a week.

Union Business Agent Chris Suazo says the union worked to make sure workers had clear information before voting, translating the contract and voting materials into about ten languages.

The agreement passed by a wide margin. Of the 1,314 ballots counted, 1,113 workers voted in favor, while 211 voted against.

Cargill accepted the results and plans to begin contacting workers as early as this week.

Maintenance crews are expected to return first to make sure the facility is safe. Workers will then go through retraining and safety sign-offs before full production resumes.

Cargill says the return will be phased, with employee safety, food safety and operational readiness guiding the process.

The plant has been shut down since May 20, when Cargill locked out roughly 1,700 union workers after an earlier contract was rejected.

The dispute centered on wages, health care and safety protections.

The Union says it’s proud of the workers and grateful for the support they received from the Fort Morgan community during the nearly three-month lockout.

The new agreement follows negotiations between Cargill and the union that produced a recommended settlement in late July. Exact contract terms have not been publicly released, though union officials say the deal includes more money than Cargill’s original offer.

Now, workers are preparing to return to the plant and resume operations.

An empty parking lot at the Cargill Plant in Fort Morgan will soon be full of vehicles again, as a majority of workers voted on Monday, August 17, 2026, to return to work with a new contract