Posts Categorized: Health & Safety

On Nov. 19, the UFCW condemned the COVID-19 safety failures alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit tied to at least five meatpacking worker deaths and more than 1,000 meatpacking worker infections at a Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa. The infections impacted over a third of the plant’s workforce, which is represented by UFCW Local 431. The lawsuit alleges that employees were ordered to report to work, even if sick, while supervisors wagered money on the number of workers who would be infected by the virus.  

The UFCW represents over 250,000 workers in meatpacking and food processing plants across the country and has been a leading national voice in the push to protect these workers on the frontlines of COVID-19 in plants across the country. Our union recently estimated that at least 128 of our meatpacking members have died due to COVID-19 and over 19,800 of our members in meatpacking plants have been infected or exposed to the virus.

“America’s meatpacking workers are dying on the frontlines of this pandemic, putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure our families can put food on the table this Thanksgiving,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “This shocking report of supervisors allegedly taking bets on how many workers would get infected, pressuring sick workers to stay on the job, and failing to enforce basic safety standards, should outrage every American.”

“These stunning safety failures make clear that the Trump Administration and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds care more about industry profits than protecting America’s frontline workers,” Perrone added. “Protecting our country’s meatpacking workers is essential to keeping our food supply secure. We are continuing to call on elected leaders to implement an enforceable national safety standard, increased access to PPE and COVID-19 testing, and rigorous proactive inspections.  Without immediate action, deadly outbreaks like this will quickly spread across the Midwest and cause COVID-19 cases to spike even higher. Our country’s meatpacking workers, and the millions of American they serve, deserve and expect better from those sworn to protect us.”

Keeping UFCW members safe in meatpacking plants is a top priority as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. On Nov. 12, the UFCW announced its opposition to the latest attempt by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase line speeds in poultry plants, which would endanger workers in these plants who are already on the frontlines of the pandemic.

The USDA regulates poultry line speed in plants across the United States for both worker safety and to allow for food inspection. Current line speeds are set at about 140 birds per minute and the proposed regulation allows plants to operate at up to 175 birds per minute. 

In 2017, the USDA considered a petition from the National Chicken Council to eliminate line speed limits. That effort was ultimately rejected after an outpouring of opposition from workers and consumers. Since then, the USDA has continued to approve record numbers of waivers to allow individual plants to operate at dangerously fast speeds, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“This new push by the USDA to increase poultry line speeds makes clear that this White House cares more about corporate profits than the safety of workers,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “America’s meatpacking workers are still on the frontlines of the pandemic putting themselves in harm’s way to keep our country’s food supply chain secure, even as COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the country. Slower line speeds protect workers from injuries and ensure safe social distancing to stop the spread of the virus. With poultry line speeds already moving at a breathtaking pace, any effort to increase these speeds is a direct threat to worker safety.”

“As the union for America’s meatpacking workers, the UFCW is calling on the Trump Administration to immediately stop this increase to poultry production speeds,” Perrone added. “In the months ahead, the UFCW will urge President-elect Joe Biden to reverse the Trump Administration’s dangerous policies and do all he can to protect America’s meatpacking workers still on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The UFCW has been a leading national voice for strengthening safeguards in meatpacking and poultry plants, which have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The UFCW and Public Citizen recently filed a lawsuit to prevent further line speed waivers in the poultry industry. The UFCW also supports “The Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act,” which was introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Representative Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to ensure that the USDA protects worker safety by maintaining safe line speeds.