More than 17,000 meat plant workers contracted coronavirus in April and May, and nearly, 100 workers died.
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that meat plants in rural America have been primary sources of local outbreaks. The data was compiled from 23 state Health Departments. Employees faced working long hours without social distancing inside the plants early on, but many plants have implemented safety producers.
Meat plant worker activist groups launch a campaign against Tyson Foods.
They sent a letter to company investors insisting the company implement safety measures to protect workers. According to Tyson, “We’re the only meat processing company in many of the states we operate to conduct voluntary, large-scale testing of its employees, many of whom do not show any symptoms and otherwise would not have been identified... We are also working with public health officials and several national workers’ organizations to continually assess and update new operational and technological solutions at our facilities to safeguard our team members.”