{"id":1933,"date":"2020-04-28T15:31:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T20:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2020-04-28T15:31:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T20:31:38","slug":"ufcw-trump-order-to-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-must-include-immediate-action-to-strengthen-coronavirus-testing-and-safety-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/04\/28\/ufcw-trump-order-to-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-must-include-immediate-action-to-strengthen-coronavirus-testing-and-safety-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"UFCW: Trump Order to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open Must Include Immediate Action to Strengthen Coronavirus Testing and Safety Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/fx-HTkk4dJ3zDpmt-gg0FwBnNZV1m0wOnQM6DLnMZ0VCs48D9ZjhjLQQBtQQSbsxPMIO-Zpki9JclOTP3O3uqZAWtHhtfOKkH4eG7LoyCCyPNZCIsrePCDrPETH3Q-U0JTrNMC2K\" alt=\"A picture containing drawing\n\nDescription automatically generated\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FOR\nIMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>April 28, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>America\u2019s Largest Meatpacking Union Calls on White House to\nImmediately Increase Worker Testing, Access to Protective Equipment, and\nFederal Oversight to Ensure the Safety of All U.S. Meatpacking Plants&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WASHINGTON,\nD.C.<\/strong> \u2013 Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/outlook.office.com\/mail\/deeplink\/compose\/www.ufcw.org\/about\">United Food and\nCommercial Workers International Union (UFCW)<\/a>,\nAmerica&#8217;s largest meatpacking union with 250,000 members across the industry,\ncalled on President Trump to take immediate action to support his new order\nthat all meatpacking plants remain open during the coronavirus outbreak.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UFCW\nInternational President Marc Perrone<\/strong> released the following\nstatement:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo\nprotect America\u2019s food supply, America\u2019s meatpacking workers must be protected.\nThe reality is that these workers are putting their lives on the line every day\nto keep our country fed during this deadly outbreak, and at least 20\nmeatpacking workers have tragically died from coronavirus while more than 5,000\nworkers have been hospitalized or are showing symptoms. For the sake of all our\nfamilies, we must prioritize the safety\nand security of these workers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile\nwe share the concern over the food supply, today\u2019s executive order to force\nmeatpacking plants to stay open must put the safety of our country\u2019s\nmeatpacking workers first. Simply put, we cannot have a secure food supply\nwithout the safety of these workers. We urge the Administration to immediately\nenact clear and enforceable safety standards that compel all meatpacking\ncompanies to provide the highest level of protective equipment through access\nto the federal stockpile of PPE, ensure daily testing is available for workers\nand their communities, enforce physical distancing at all plants, and provide\nfull paid sick leave for any workers who are infected. Additionally, to protect\nthe food supply and ensure these safety standards for workers are enforced,\nthese plants must be constantly monitored by federal inspectors and workers\nmust have access to representation to ensure their rights are not violated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll\nof our country\u2019s elected leaders &#8211; federal and state &#8211; must work together to\nensure that we keep these essential workers safe and our country\u2019s food supply\nsecure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In\nthe last week, UFCW sent <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/61\/files\/2020\/04\/Letter-to-Vice-President-Pence.pdf\"><strong>a letter to Vice\nPresident Pence<\/strong><\/a> urgently calling for the White House\nCoronavirus Task Force to prioritize five safety actions targeted toward the\nmeatpacking industry, including: (1) increased worker testing, (2) priority\naccess to PPE, (3) halting line speed waivers, (4) mandating social distancing,\nand (5) isolating workers with symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today,\nnew internal UFCW estimates have confirmed<strong> 20 worker deaths in meatpacking <\/strong>and\n<strong>food processing<\/strong>. In addition, at least <strong>5,000 meatpacking workers <\/strong>and<strong>\n1,500 food processing workers have been directly impacted by the virus. <\/strong>Those\ndirectly impacted include individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19,\nmissed work due to self-quarantine, are awaiting test results, or have been\nhospitalized, and\/or are symptomatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UFCW\nannounced today that new estimates show <strong>22 meatpacking plants have closed<\/strong> \u2013 including\nunion and non-union plants \u2013 at some point in the past two\nmonths. These closures have resulted in <strong>over 35,000 workers impacted <\/strong>and\na <strong>25 percent reduction in pork slaughter capacity<\/strong> as well as a <strong>10\npercent reduction in beef slaughter capacity<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>The UFCW is the largest private sector union in the United States,\nrepresenting 1.3 million professionals and their families in healthcare,\ngrocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops and other\nindustries. Our members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada and\nPuerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/\"><em>www.ufcw.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2020 America\u2019s Largest Meatpacking Union Calls on White House to Immediately Increase Worker Testing, Access to Protective Equipment, and Federal Oversight to Ensure the Safety of All U.S. Meatpacking Plants&nbsp; WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), America&#8217;s largest meatpacking union with 250,000 members across &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/04\/28\/ufcw-trump-order-to-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-must-include-immediate-action-to-strengthen-coronavirus-testing-and-safety-measures\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">UFCW: Trump Order to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open Must Include Immediate Action to Strengthen Coronavirus Testing and Safety Measures<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[59],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - 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