Cold, Crowded, Deadly: Virus Stalks Workers at U.S. Meat Plants

By late March, Rafael Benjamin’s family was pleading with him to stay home from work even if it cost him his job. He promised he would, but not until after April 10. That would be his work anniversary, his 17th at <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/3091Z%20US%20Equity","_id":"00000171-ee96-d816-aff3-ffde58090000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Cargill Inc.’s pork and beef processing plant in Hazleton, Pa.—a milestone for topping up his pension when he retired in October.

So Benjamin, 64, soldiered on, a second-shift worker earning $15.35 an hour. Around him, colleagues were falling ill; on the employee grapevine, people said it was the coronavirus. Supervisors said that wasn’t true and told workers not ...