- Interview by
- Alex N. Press
There are few industries, if any, whose workers have hired COVID-19 at the rate of workers in the meat processing industry. According to data from the Food and Environment Reporting Network, at least 1,396 refrigerators and refrigerators have had confirmed cases of COVID-19. At least 57,454 slaughterhouse workers and 17,482 food processing workers tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 284 slaughterhouse workers and forty-eight food processing workers died.
The Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA), a coalition of workers’ organizations across the supply chain, released a report on working conditions during the pandemic. Entitled “We are not disposable”, the report describes how COVID-19 affected hundreds of thousands of workers in these industries, as well as how these workers organized themselves to protect themselves.
The image that the report paints of the food processing work is terrible. Although the United States Department of Agriculture has already withdrawn a proposed rule that would allow some poultry plants to increase line speed, the problems remain. Poor ventilation, for example, is still a problem. While the New York Times reports, scientists are asking the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to set air standards for workplaces. As a scientist, an epidemiologist, told the Times, “The refrigerated environment of the food processing plants and the lack of fresh air are the ideal conditions for the development of the virus. But the industry has not taken security measures to minimize the risk. “It all adds up to the recent nitrogen spill in a Georgia poultry farm, which killed six workers.
The members of Venceremos, a member of FCWA, say that social distance is impossible inside the facilities and that they feel insecure. As stated by Magaly Licolli, director of Venceremos, “Organizing poultry farmers has always been a challenge, but with this pandemic, it is about fighting or dying. There is no other option. “
A person named in the FCWA report works at a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Arkansas. In 2020, Tyson, one of the largest poultry producers in the world, reported its largest revenue in five years. It is also the company whose factory managers placed bets on how many workers would hire COVID-19. At its annual shareholder meeting earlier this month, the company rejected a proposal for due diligence to investigate possible unsafe working conditions.
JacobinAlex N. Press spoke to Jason Ramirez, an Arkansas-based Tyson worker, a pseudonym we gave them to be able to speak freely and protect themselves from possible retaliation, about last year at the poultry processing plant.
What was it like working at the Tyson factory during the pandemic?
All my co-workers, including me, are afraid to go to work, because most of the people I work with are older, so they are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. They are at greater risk of becoming ill and failing to recover. It has been very difficult to work because the workload continues to increase. No matter how many people are in the factory, we still have to maintain the quota. There is not enough protection and there are many infections at the moment.
There have been many cases of COVID-19 in the poultry processing industry and many workers have died. What did Tyson do to protect workers and what should it do that it is not doing?
The only thing Tyson did to protect workers was to provide hand sanitizer and masks, but it was too late when they did. The other things they say they have implemented are not really protections. In addition, we have not received any payment for dangerousness or further bonuses. The salary is the same as before. We are not paid if we are infected and then quarantined; or rather, it is very difficult to get paid if this happens and many people do not. There is very little compensation. They gave face shields to some workers – probably as many as seven workers in a department – but not all received them.
One very important thing that Tyson must do is the quarantine workers who have been exposed to the virus. They are currently allowing workers to continue working until the results of COVID-19 are positive, which means that they infect other workers in the meantime. And workers need to be paid during this quarantine period. They must also be doing contact tracking.
How much do you earn at the factory and have you received any hazardous premiums?
I earn $ 14 an hour. Every year there is an increase, but it was not a bigger increase this year or anything. I didn’t receive any other increase besides that, which was another thirty cents [per hour]. Last year, they offered $ 500 in bonuses in May 2020, but not everyone was eligible to receive that bonus.
What is it like to work in an industry with such high COVID-19 rates among the workforce while so many people talk about the importance of “essential workers” and how to keep these workers safe? What do you think of how Tyson treats you and your co-workers?
I don’t understand why we are called “essential workers”. In fact, for the company, we are more like “essential machines”. Tyson believes that we are expendable and disposable. If we don’t work like a machine, we can be discarded by the company as if nothing had happened. I think “essential workers” are meant to deceive people; it’s not how we feel. For example, we received Christmas dinner. This year, we didn’t even receive that to thank us for our work. The company’s only concern is production.
In addition, there is a lot of racism in the factory. For example, I have been in this particular factory for three years, and in that time, I have seen seven whites come to work in production and, after six months, they become supervisors. That’s because managers, who are also white, help them out of these jobs in production. There are Hispanics who have been working at the factory for twenty or twenty-five years and the best they can do is become a “leader”, although they know more than the supervisors who just started working there. We don’t have as many opportunities as whites.
What led you to start talking about the conditions in your workplace and how did you get involved with Venceremos?
I got involved with Venceremos through my wife. She works in another factory and she was the one who told me about the organization and that she fought for the poultry farmers. I was determined to fight for the poultry farmers. Before that, I always liked to fight abuse. I never like to see people humiliated. So I’ve been gathering evidence of what’s going on inside the plant. When I met Venceremos, I liked the way Magaly [Licolli, the director of Venceremos] organized and the way she explained what we could do.
I talk a lot with the media, but I’ve also been organizing with my co-workers and compiling information about the company itself. If necessary, I collect evidence inside the factory. I do a lot to bring my co-workers into the organization process.
I also collected signatures for a workers’ petition. We note our requirements: additional health insurance, paid quarantine, paid sick leave and better working conditions. When we created this petition, I talked to my co-workers about the importance of fighting for these demands. We had to be careful when we talked about it because not everyone could know. But we got over a hundred signatures between people on my shift.
Every week, a core group of us receives calls to talk about updates and discuss next steps as well.
Is there anything else that people should know about what the pandemic has been like for you and your co-workers?
Tyson has given salary increases to some workers, but not others. The plant where my wife works is very important, because this is where all the slaughter starts. Therefore, there are several plants that depend on the proper functioning of your plant. At this factory, the deboning department is receiving a $ 15 hourly increase. But only these workers. They are doing this to retain these workers now, because many of the other workers are sick, so they need to ensure that these workers stay there. The supervisor’s explanation of why the increase is only being given to these workers was to say that it is because they work with knives, so their job is more dangerous. I do not believe that.
And to clarify, did you or your wife contract COVID-19 during the past year?
No, but I was recently exposed to it and asked to be quarantined. I asked if my wife would be quarantined and the company said to me, “No, just you”.
And there is no payment during quarantine?
No. So far, they haven’t paid me anything.