We've now seen more than 5,000 deaths from covid in our state, and numbers continue to rise. A disproportionate number of these deaths and infections have been among low-income Latinx people who have been working tirelessly at food-processing facilities to keep our community fed throughout the pandemic.
However, their corporate employers force these workers to do their jobs without adequate protective equipment or distancing. And our state leaders have looked the other way. Now, new reporting from online magazine Facing South reveals that our elected leaders have a cozy relationship with one of the worst offenders, Tyson Foods.
Recently uncovered email exchanges between state officials and Tyson directors show a pattern of close coordination instead of vigilance and regulation in the public interest. For instance, health officials have consistently provided glowing reviews of safety conditions in processing facilities despite staggering covid case rates. State and local officials check in frequently with Tyson representatives, even allowing Tyson to speak for them in the case of Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse and Rogers Mayor Greg Hines, who signed quotes drafted by Tyson. Meanwhile, the voices of actual workers remain unheard.
As an advocate for poultry workers' rights, I have repeatedly requested meetings with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and other officials so that I can share concerns from workers in the community. But time and again, they've declined to meet with me or the workers. Now, I know why. In newly released emails, Tyson's director of state and local government affairs, Jeff Wood, urged Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse to avoid TV appearances out of fear that I might also be interviewed and raise up the actual conditions and the needs of workers. According to Wood, I "try to create drama" by making "baseless accusations."
What's clear in this back-and-forth is that Tyson is more focused on avoiding bad publicity than preventing the deaths of its own workers. Its close relationships with politicians in our state have effectively disappeared workers and shaped policy to benefit Big Meat.
What workers want and deserve is the chance to provide for their families and their community without fearing for their lives on the job, but they often face retaliation for speaking out publicly. Instead of taking basic steps to follow CDC guidelines, such as purchasing protective equipment for workers, creating socially distanced work stations and thoroughly sanitizing facilities, Tyson has invested its resources in lobbying and in deceptive ads to protect its reputation.
And this isn't happening just in Arkansas, it's happening across the country. Tyson and a handful of other corporations are using their deep pockets and close connections with government officials to suppress information about covid cases, discriminate against vulnerable Black and brown workers and keep unsafe facilities open.
Throughout the pandemic, corporations have endangered workers and made meat-packing facilities hot spots for the spread of covid. And our political leaders have been complicit. We must tackle the unsafe conditions at these facilities if we are to have any chance of stopping the spread in our communities.
Arkansas has the opportunity to lead the way, and tackle the spread of covid at its root. I will continue to meet with workers and lift up their experiences and needs, but I can't create this change alone. Even rallies at the Capitol and petitions with signatures from thousands of community members have so far been no match for corporate influence.
Governor Hutchinson can continue to ignore my calls, my letters, my visits to his office and even marches in the streets, but he cannot ignore us all. It will take every one of us speaking out in solidarity with workers to finally make our voices heard.
I urge every Arkansan to call upon our lawmakers to step up and protect public health by holding corporations accountable. We, not Tyson executives, have the right to representation, support and protection during the pandemic.
Magaly Licolli is the executive director of Venceremos, a worker-based organization in Arkansas whose mission is to ensure the human rights of poultry workers.