Posts Categorized: Meat Packing

UFCW Local 400 recently hosted a job fair for members who were formerly employed at the Tyson Foods poultry plant in Glen Allen, Va. Tyson Foods shuttered the plant this month, which affected about 700 workers.

The job fair, which took place at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Richmond, Va., included a 401(k) expert, as well as local employers from the Boars Head plants in Petersburg and Jarrett, Cunningham Food Services, Henrico County Food Service, Henrico County Public Schools transportation and food services departments, Newport News Shipyard, Ocean Harvesters and others.

UFCW Local 400 Regional Director Donna Waddell helped to organize the event after learning that Tyson Foods planned to close the plant. She recruited employers to help connect members with union jobs and spread the word about the event through the plant and local media.

“That’s why we’re here today,” she said in an interview with the Richmond Free Press. “Trying to help them find good jobs with good benefits and good pay. Whatever we can do to point them in the right direction for a good job with good benefits, that’s what we’re trying to do.”

On Feb. 3, the UFCW announced its support for the reintroduction of the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act.

This legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Representative Ro Khanna (Calif.-17), would provide essential protections to meatpacking workers across the country by strengthening worker safety provisions, increasing transparency, and supporting American jobs in an industry that continues to feel strains resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Meatpacking and food processing workers risked their health and safety as essential workers every single day during the height of the pandemic to ensure American families had food on the table,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “While our union was able to fight for and secure many protections for our members, every single worker in this industry deserves the essential protections that meat and poultry processing companies are still failing to provide.”

“The UFCW stands firmly with Senator Booker and Representative Khanna as they reintroduce the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act,” Perrone added. “This critically important legislation will be instrumental in protecting workers, holding the industry accountable, and making our food system more resilient. Americans should be able to trust that the food they put on the table comes from American workers who are protected on the job.”