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58 percent of workers at Tyson meat factory in Iowa test positive for coronavirus

SilentPanda

SilentPanda

Member
Nov 6, 2017
13,581
Earth
More than 700 employees at a Tyson Foods meat factory in Perry, Iowa, have tested positive for coronavirus as the nation braces for a possible meat shortage due to the pandemic.An Iowa Department of Public Health report released Tuesday showed that 58 percent of the factory's workforce had tested positive for the virus, according to NBC affiliate WHO.

The news comes just days after nearly 900 workers were confirmed to have the virus at a Tyson Foods plant in Indiana.Tyson Foods said in a statement that the pandemic has forced the company to slow production and close plants in Dakota City, Nebraska, and Pasco, Washington, and the Perry plant as well.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to compel meat processing plants to stay open last week using the Defense Production Act. Trump said he will also provide liability protection.


So...it's safe to open up America now?
 
Keyouta

Keyouta

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,193
Canada
Crazy. In Alberta we had a pretty significant amount of people affected at a meat factory as well. And they supply a good amount of meat for all of Western Canada.
 
Speevy

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,316
They're just going to wheel people out to make room for fresh workers. Sick policy.

We're not experiencing mass starvation. Shit.
 
Loudninja

Loudninja

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,165
Holy shit these stupid assholes, not the workers but Trump and the dumbass government of Iowa.
 
fragamemnon

fragamemnon

Member
Nov 30, 2017
6,800
If there's one thing we do know, it's that prolonged indoor exposure in crowded places leads the way in terms of succcessful attack rates for the virus. Extraordinary protections really need to be provided to workers in similar conditions.

These businesses are essential because they are single points of failure that would ripple out in both directions if they were disrupted. So you do have to keep them open but FFS these businesses must operate safely (and have the supplies, knowledge, and manpower available for them to purchase or contract to help).
 
UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
From The Nib, back to the grind:
EXK_F1kXgAAljFP.jpg
 
MopDog

MopDog

Member
Nov 15, 2017
550
Tragic.

If animal and environmental welfare weren't enough cause for concern, the work conditions for people at farming plants like these are notoriously dreadful and unethical. It's no surprise that thousands of individuals forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder slicing, deboning, and packing meat have become a hotspot for the spread of disease. What's tragic is the relentless abuse against these workers, many of whom are immigrants and refugees that have no financial recourse outside of continued labor (see: no stimulus checks). If it wasn't enough that the executives at your company have hardly incentivized you to keep working (Smithfield Foods had the fucking nerve to offer its employees a $500 bonus check earlier last month if they didn't miss a single day of work in April, May, AND June), you've got the president and his administration utterly dismissing your concerns.

The meat packing industry is clearly unsustainable environmentally, ethically, and socially.
 
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Carl2282

Member
Oct 25, 2017
188
fragamemnon said:
If there's one thing we do know, it's that prolonged indoor exposure in crowded places leads the way in terms of succcessful attack rates for the virus. Extraordinary protections really need to be provided to workers in similar conditions.

These businesses are essential because they are single points of failure that would ripple out in both directions if they were disrupted. So you do have to keep them open but FFS these businesses must operate safely (and have the supplies, knowledge, and manpower available for them to purchase or contract to help).
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What repulses me the most is that the senate wants to bundle in a damn liability waiver. It's a tried and true convention that employers must provide employees with a safe work environment.
Also work comp should be the sole remedy for workplace injuries and illness. in some ways this is becoming worse than slavery.
 
OG YOLOwen

OG YOLOwen

Banned
Mar 24, 2019
814
We had a case in a Tyson factory in my city too and there are idiots claiming we should reopen

how this became a partisan issue is beyond me
 
smurfx

smurfx

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,578
throw all those idiots protesting into the factory and let them take over for the sick.
 
darkwing

darkwing

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,941
won't this be happening also to other food processing plants? be it vegetables or fish?

here in our country, the food workers are in full PPE gear and doing social distancing
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,236
Hopefully they come out the other side okay. Hearing new complications for covid almost every day it feels like.
 
MegaManTrigger

MegaManTrigger

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
8,734
If President Dumbfuck won't do anything, then there needs to be a walk-off.

He wants to put your lives over handhurbers, so be selfish for once and put your lives over him.
 
ChrisBliss117

ChrisBliss117

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,842
Ricketts made it beef month in NE so I'm going to minimize my meat consumption this month because fuck him.
 
Kelsdesu

Kelsdesu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,462
We can live without meat for a while. It ain't that serious, but I'm sure Elon will tweet that he has meat packing robots on deck.
 
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Huncho_Houdini

Huncho_Houdini

Member
Dec 31, 2017
7,083
Damn 58%? Are we even seeing numbers that high for hospital workers? It's insane how contagious this virus is, and we are lucky that there is no transmission via food.
 
hateradio

hateradio

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,729
welcome, nowhere
MopDog said:
Tragic.

If animal and environmental welfare weren't enough cause for concern, the work conditions for people at farming plants like these are notoriously dreadful and unethical. It's no surprise that thousands of individuals forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder slicing, deboning, and packing meat have become a hotspot for the spread of disease. What's tragic is the relentless abuse against these workers, many of whom are immigrants and refugees that have no financial recourse outside of continued labor (see: no stimulus checks). If it wasn't enough that the executives at your company have hardly incentivized you to keep working (Smithfield Foods had the fucking nerve to offer its employees a $500 bonus check earlier last month if they didn't miss a single day of work in April, May, AND June), you've got the president and his administration utterly dismissing your concerns.

The meat packing industry is clearly unsustainable environmentally, ethically, and socially.
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It's really shitty, especially when you consider that Tyson chicken is really "cheap." Like, let's pay people decent wages and have them work in a better environment.

Under this current administration, nothing is going to change. I don't know what to expect if Dems take over.
 
devilhawk

devilhawk

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,536
What's the air like in these plants? Is it a fairly stagnant warehouse? Is it recycled air?

There's been numerous studies that show being indoors and also "downwind" for hours of an infected person due to interior airflow is very dangerous.
 
nopressure

nopressure

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,414
lol. This seems crazy.

Dunno why America cares so much about China's handling of the virus. It's 100% clear Trump would happily sit on his laurels and spread the virus to the rest of the world at breakneck speed if the roles had been reversed.
 
br0ken_shad0w

br0ken_shad0w

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,092
Washington
MopDog said:
Tragic.

If animal and environmental welfare weren't enough cause for concern, the work conditions for people at farming plants like these are notoriously dreadful and unethical. It's no surprise that thousands of individuals forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder slicing, deboning, and packing meat have become a hotspot for the spread of disease. What's tragic is the relentless abuse against these workers, many of whom are immigrants and refugees that have no financial recourse outside of continued labor (see: no stimulus checks). If it wasn't enough that the executives at your company have hardly incentivized you to keep working (Smithfield Foods had the fucking nerve to offer its employees a $500 bonus check earlier last month if they didn't miss a single day of work in April, May, AND June), you've got the president and his administration utterly dismissing your concerns.

The meat packing industry is clearly unsustainable environmentally, ethically, and socially.
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Click to shrink...

Over a 100 years later and we still haven't learned.

162464.jpg
 
samred

samred

Amico fun conversationalist
Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,581
Seattle, WA
Bumping this thread after seeing the vile allegations from today's lawsuit about the Iowa factory in question:

iowacapitaldispatch.com

Lawsuit: Tyson managers bet money on how many workers would contract COVID-19 • Iowa Capital Dispatch

A lawsuit claims that Tyson Foods ordered employees to work during the pandemic while managers privately wagered money on how many of them would contract COVID-19.
iowacapitaldispatch.com iowacapitaldispatch.com

  • In mid-April, around the time Black Hawk County Sherriff Tony Thompson visited the plant and reported the working conditions there "shook [him] to the core," plant manager Tom Hart organized a cash-buy-in, winner-take-all, betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager how many plant employees would test positive for COVID-19.
  • John Casey, an upper-level manager at the plant, is alleged to have explicitly directed supervisors to ignore symptoms of COVID-19, telling them to show up to work even if they were exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Casey reportedly referred to COVID-19 as the "glorified flu" and told workers not to worry about it because "it's not a big deal" and "everyone is going to get it." On one occasion, Casey intercepted a sick supervisor who was on his way to be tested and ordered him to get back to work, saying, "We all have symptoms — you have a job to do." After one employee vomited on the production line, managers reportedly allowed the man to continue working and then return to work the next day.
  • In late March or early April, as the pandemic spread across Iowa, managers at the Waterloo plant reportedly began avoiding the plant floor for fear of contracting the virus. As a result, they increasingly delegated managerial authority and responsibilities to low-level supervisors who had no management training or experience. The supervisors did not require truck drivers and subcontractors to have their temperatures checked before entering the plant.
  • In March and April, plant supervisors falsely denied the existence of any confirmed cases or positive tests for COVID-19 within the plant, and allegedly told workers they had a responsibility to keep working to ensure Americans didn't go hungry as the result of a shutdown.
  • Tyson paid out $500 "thank you bonuses" to employees who turned up for every scheduled shift for three months — a policy decision that allegedly incentivized sick workers to continue reporting for work.
  • Tyson executives allegedly lobbied Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for COVID-19 liability protections that would shield the company from lawsuits, and successfully lobbied the governor to declare that only the state government, not local governments, had the authority to close businesses in response to the pandemic.
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I said it on Twitter, and I'll say it here: May the managers in question never sleep another quiet, peaceful night for the rest of their pig-shit existence.
 
thefit

thefit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,243
Revoke all these plants ridiculous status and pay the workers to stay home. Fuck your chicken tenders and bacon .
 
Merv

Merv

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,454
thefit said:
Revoke all these plants ridiculous status and pay the workers to stay home. Fuck your chicken tenders and bacon .
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I agree in principle, but if chicken products disappear over night, then no one or even multiple things will fill the void. Supply chains are only so flexible unfortunately.
 
Autumn

Autumn

Avenger
Apr 1, 2018
6,288
So is the government going to cover the expenses of liability or make it impossible to sue?
 
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