Meatpacking workers stay on line in state

Shifts keep running at plants but infection risk on minds

Meat and food packaging workers in processing plants across the state are on alert as production continues during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Many are sick, some stay home, most come to work," said Anthony Ridgeway, a chicken plant worker in Springdale. He was sent home to quarantine for a week after a co-worker showed symptoms of a covid-19 infection.

Ridgeway said the co-worker had lived with someone who went to the hospital to be treated for the virus.

"He was sneezing and coughing," and Ridgeway told his employer, George's Inc., that he "didn't feel safe working with sick people."

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U.S. meatpackers are feeling pressure to keep their plants running, even as employees get sick and test positive for covid-19.

Sanderson Farms on Thursday told analysts in a phone call that 15 employees have tested positive for the virus since March 23 and it was awaiting results from 36 other tests.

As a precaution, Sanderson had 204 employees under quarantine at home with pay because they showed virus symptoms. Of those 152 are healthy and have returned to work, Stephens analyst Ben Bienvenu said in a research brief.

"We will continue to monitor supply/demand trends as the situation is incredibly dynamic," he said. "For now, we continue to be cautious on chicken."

Many plants have adjusted production to fulfill more retail orders as restaurants close or convert to takeout-only operations. Executives from Tyson Foods Inc. and others have said that they are committed to getting as much of their product as they can to store shelves. Meanwhile, slaughterhouse employees, who under normal circumstances work in difficult conditions, now have to deal with a pandemic.

Brenda Braswell, a federal food inspector, made a complaint that she was doing work at a Tyson Foods plant in Pine Bluff when signs of the virus began to show last month. She said she worked closely with an employee on March 11, who later tested positive for the virus. At the time, Braswell was not wearing, nor was she provided, protective equipment.

Braswell and four other federal workers have sued the government, claiming they were not given hazard pay for exposure to infected people, objects or surfaces during the crisis. Federal food inspectors are required by law to be in processing plants to ensure the quality and safety of the nation's food supply.

Robert DePriest, a lawyer representing Braswell, said as more inspectors become sick, or leave, replacements are being sent to cover more than one facility, increasing the likelihood of transmission or infection.

"That's what a lot of the employees are concerned about," he said. The hazard rate is a 25% pay increase for general workers, and an 8% increase for wage-grade employees.

Elsewhere, McKee Foods, a maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, recently reported a positive case at a plant in Gentry, about 8 miles north of Siloam Springs.

The employee notified emergency health services on March 24 and tested positive for covid-19 four days later. McKee spokesman Mike Gloeckler said in an email that the employee "appears to be recovering well at home."

In response the company has plans to clean and sanitize areas where the employee worked. Gloekler said that the employee came in contact with five others. Management contacted each worker and "provided necessary support."

The Arkansas Department of Health is monitoring people who have any possible exposure to the coronavirus, communicating with employers to help identify exposed co-workers and offering guidance to reduce the spread.

Asked if the agency could identify the number of Arkansans who work at food and meatpacking plants who have tested positive for the virus by county, spokesman Danyelle McNeill said "we can't discuss any information about patients."

As the virus spreads, company margins are being tested. Sanderson Farms is sending home more than 400 seemingly healthy slaughterhouse workers in Moultrie, Ga., with pay, because of a large outbreak in a nearby county. That has reduced production at the facility by 20% to 25%.

A spokesman for Tyson Foods said in an email last week that "we've had a limited number of team members test positive" but did not go into detail. Measures are in place to protect the company's workers, such as taking temperatures before they enter facilities. Tyson is also offering $500 bonuses to eligible truckers and processing plant workers.

"We appreciate that Tyson is trying, but they need to do way more," said Magaly Licolli, executive director of Venceremos, an advocacy group for poultry plant workers in Northwest Arkansas. She said that the employees in area processing plants still work next to one another and take breaks in the same spaces. The thermometer policy also isn't enough because the virus can stay in the body for days before fever or symptoms begin to show.

Her organization is petitioning Tyson and other meatpackers in the area to offer paid sick leave to poultry line workers who exhibit coronavirus symptoms. Licolli said the workers are accustomed to working while sick to avoid loss of income or a job.

Ridgeway said despite management asking workers how their condition is before work, many workers don't speak English and "most lie so they can work."

Arkansas is one of the leading chicken producing states in the country, with broiler chickens raised by thousands of family farms contributing to more than 40% of the state's total farm cash receipts. A significant amount of plant workers are immigrants or have a criminal background.

"They are the ones holding up our economy," Licolli said. "Without them there will be a disaster."

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