Top union attacks USDA over faster line speed proposal amid pandemic
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A national union representing food plant workers in Iowa is criticizing the United States Department of Agriculture is potentially putting lives at risk during this pandemic.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International union opposes the USDA's proposal to speed up lines at poultry plants.
UFCW International President Marc Perrone released the following statement:
This new push by the Trump Administration to increase poultry line speeds makes clear that this White House cares more about corporate profits than the safety of workers.
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 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, UFCW is calling on the Trump Administration to immediately stop this increase to poultry production speeds.
In the months ahead, 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.
UFCW represents more than 1 million food and retail workers. More than 10,000 are Iowans.
Iowa saw its share of outbreaks earlier this year.
"We saw outbreaks in Columbus Junction, Ottumwa, Council Bluffs--across our state," said district 62 state legislator and Waterloo resident Ras Smith. "Specifically, in my community, we saw at least three people minimum--that we've lost due to COVID-19--specifically tied to our Tyson meat packing plant."
That Tyson Foods plant reported 730 workers tested positive for COVID-19 in the spring.
The UFCW reports 128 U.S. meatpacking workers died from coronavirus and almost 20,000 got infected or exposed.
