Gabe Evans stayed silent as Colorado meatpacking workers went on strike

Republican Rep. Gabe Evans declined to support striking workers at a meatpacking plant in his Colorado district.

About 3,800 workers at the JBS Foods facility in Greeley went on strike for 19 days beginning in March before ultimately winning wage increases, bonuses, and an agreement for the company to cover the cost of protective gear.

It was the first major strike in the meatpacking industry in more than 40 years.

Kim Cordova, a union president who helped organize the strike, told the Associated Press that the workers picketed for weeks in the frigid cold “because they knew their worth and refused to be disrespected.”

Evans stayed silent throughout the strike, even as other Colorado lawmakers offered support to the workers. The union representing JBS Foods employees said it was contacted by Sen. John Hickenlooper and multiple state legislators, but Evans was missing.

Evans’ reelection campaign received a $5,000 donation from the JBS Foods PAC on Feb. 23, less than three weeks after workers voted to authorize the strike. The PAC gave Evans $5,000 last year as well.

Between 2024 and 2025, Evans received more than $10,000 in donations from senior employees at Cornerstone Government Affairs, a lobbying firm that has counted JBS Foods as a client since 2023.

Evans has publicly praised JBS Foods and socialized with its executives. In January 2025, he posted a photo to X of him posing alongside Wesley Batista Filho, the billionaire CEO of JBS North America Operations. Accompanying text described JBS Foods as “a vital part of Weld County’s workforce and economy.”

JBS Foods has repeatedly been accused of labor and safety violations throughout its history, making it the target of multiple OSHA complaints and civil suits. In 2025, the same month Evans posed for the photo, JBS Foods agreed to pay $4 million to the federal government after it was discovered that the company’s cleaning contractor illegally employed and overworked more than 100 children, aged 13 to 17.

“The department’s work uncovering a systemic disregard for the safety of children resulted in meaningful commitments to stop and prevent child labor exploitation,” said Jessica Looman, a then Labor Department administrator.

JBS Foods is currently the subject of a federal antitrust probe.

Evans is running for a second term this year and is widely considered one of the most vulnerable House Republicans facing reelection. His Democratic challenger will be chosen in a June 30 primary.

Two Democrats vying to take on Evans are former state Rep. Shannon Bird and current state Rep. Manny Rutinel, both of whom walked the picket line with striking JBS Foods employees.