Cargill has locked out more than 1,700 union workers from a key meatpacking plant in Colorado after pay negotiations between the massive food company and Teamsters members reached an impasse.

The employees, who are not getting paid, say Minnetonka-based Cargill is refusing to provide adequate raises after months of bargaining. Cargill said it is willing to make “an estimated $33.4 million investment in Fort Morgan employees” over a five-year agreement.

The beef plant has skidded to a standstill during a time when consumer complaints about high beef prices are growing. The slaughterhouse in northeast Colorado takes in live cattle and ships out boxed beef, and the union said the plant is pivotal for the local economy.

Cargill reported base wages at the plant are $23.50, up from $15.35 in 2018.

Chris Bell, a Teamsters Local 455 union steward and maintenance worker at the plant, said Cargill has played “hardball,” leaving the negotiating table and failing to listen to concerns that workers are struggling to pay for necessities. The $33.4 million investment works out to be “pennies” when broken down per employee for five years, he said.

“Either we can starve to death real quickly right now — they’re locking us out — or we take the contract and start it slowly," Bell said.

Union members overwhelmingly voted against Cargill’s latest proposal, Bell said.

Cargill has countered that it wants to resolve the conflict as soon as possible.

“Cargill is prepared to meet with the union at mutually agreeable times and dates and will continue to consider any proposals the union may present in an effort to reach agreement,” the company’s last email to the union stated.

A spokeswoman said the company locked out the employees Wednesday because “continued uncertainty around a potential work stoppage creates challenges to operating safely, responsibly and reliably,” adding that the company did not want to do it.

“Like other beef operations, Fort Morgan is operating in a challenging economic environment, with costs currently exceeding returns,” Cargill wrote on its website. “That context does not change our respect for employees or our commitment to bargaining in good faith, but it underscores the importance of reaching an agreement that is sustainable for employees and the facility over the long term.”

Neither party said the impasse will end soon. Cargill said it is waiting to hear more from the union.

Cargill said cattle scheduled to arrive at the Fort Morgan plant were redirected to other facilities in Kansas, Nebraska and Texas, and the company does not expect an impact to customers or producers, including grocery stores and ranchers.

Bell said the union workers just want to go back to work. They include “single mothers with kids just trying to pay the bills,” he said.

“If they take this contract or take this deal — in five years, they would just be doomed.”

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