Posts Categorized: Health & Safety

On August  3, the UFCW, in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), released the results of a year-long study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UFCW essential members.

This study is the largest longitudinal survey of essential workers and union members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 20,000 UFCW essential workers across all 50 states in nearly every industry represented by our union participated in the survey.

Among the key findings of the year-long study of essential workers were:

• UFCW members who reported having COVID infections before May 2021 were twice as likely to be reinfected in the past year.
• Of those UFCW members who contracted COVID, 59 percent said that they believed it was likely they contracted the virus in their workplace.
• Six percent of respondents that contracted COVID needed to be hospitalized, which is a significantly higher rate than the nationwide 2 percent rate of hospitalization.
• Four percent of workers reported being unable to return to work after contracting COVID.
• In May of 2022, half of respondents reported that their lives were still deeply impacted by COVID.

“This UNMC study makes clear that COVID-19 has – and continues to have – a serious and significant impact on America’s essential workers,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone. “The UFCW is calling on Congress, the Biden Administration, and states and localities to take bolder steps and policy actions to better address the impact of the pandemic, and to help protect workers from future pandemics. These essential workers paid a hefty price for continuing to do their jobs, which kept food on American families’ tables and our economy moving throughout the pandemic. They deserve immediate action as they continue to confront ongoing risk and the nation’s recognition for their service.”

“The unique partnership with UFCW has recorded the full scope of the markedly increased risk of COVID infections among union essential workers,” said Ali S. Khan MD, dean of the College of Public Health, UNMC. “Policies to protect these essential workers are critical to weathering the current surge of COVID cases nationwide and being ready for the next pandemic.”

In light of this groundbreaking study, the UFCW is calling for the following immediate actions to protect the health and safety of our essential workers:

• Ensure essential workers in every industry have access to dedicated paid sick leave that protects their employment status when dealing with infection;
• Immediately move on legislation, like the America’s Meatpacking Workers Act, to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in the hardest-hit industries;
• Implement a nationwide Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) infectious disease standard, and hold employers accountable who do not take steps to protect essential workers during pandemics.

More information on the survey can be found on the ufcw.org website here and a social media toolkit for Locals to promote the survey and key findings can be found here. 

UFCW Local 2, in partnership with the OSHA Region 7 office, recently held a safety and health complaint training for members and staff in Dodge City, Kan.

Over 30 meatpacking workers, stewards and representatives employed in different meatpacking plants and retail stores across Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri attended the training at the recently inaugurated Mike Bellinger Community Center in Dodge City.

The training was led by Brian Wood, OSHA acting labor liaison, and Dave McDonell, a specialist from the Wichita area office, who provided participants with an overview of how workers or their representatives can file a confidential safety and health complaint and request an OSHA inspection of their workplace. This training was simultaneously translated into Spanish to provide access to Spanish speaking members.

The training is part of a new joint effort with the regional OSHA office to provide workers with the necessary resources and tools to report labor violations in a safe and anonymous way.

“These events aim to promote awareness among our stewards and members on the available legal tools to protect their rights at the workplace,” said UFCW Local 2 Political and Community Outreach Director Monica Vargas-Huertas. “We are thankful for the OSHA national and regional administration’s commitment to educate and engage with our membership while learning more about the hazards affecting workers in the meatpacking industry.”