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'Bring the president down here': Indiana meat plant workers angered by planned Trump order

John Tuohy
Indianapolis Star

LOGANSPORT—For weeks, fear has swept the floors of the Tyson Foods meat plant, where workers on the processing line work shoulder-to-shoulder for entire shifts and at least 110 have tested positive for COVID-19.

“God help the people on the line,” said Gary Harris, who has worked at the northern Indiana plant for 20 years. “Everyone is scared and worried, no one knows who has it and who doesn’t because the company won’t say."

"So you rely on the rumor mill, which can spread pretty fast itself.”

But Tuesday, President Donald Trump indicated he would issue an executive order forcing companies like Tysons to re-open the shuttered plants amid growing fears of breaks in the food supply chain and shortages of household staples chicken, pork and beef.

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The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Logansport, Ind., on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Word of the president's planned action was met with anger and disbelief by workers on the front lines.

“If he does that I think they should bring the president down here and have him work shoulder-to-shoulder and join the fun,” Harris said.

Meat packing plants are 'critical infrastructure'

Trump was expected to issue the order as early as Tuesday, declaring the plants critical infrastructure under the Defense Production Act.. The President also said he would issue an executive order to shield meat plants from legal liability if they are sued by employees who contract the coronavirus while on the job. While Trump only mentioned Tyson Foods specifically, he suggested his order would protect other businesses from liability as well.

The President's move comes just days after Tyson Foods board Chairman John Tyson took out a full-page newspaper ad that said "the food supply chain is breaking," and "there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed."

Tysons did not immediately comment on the reports of Trump's impending order.

A sign posted in a Logansport, Ind., resident's yard reads, "Proud Team Member. My Work Feeds The Nation," on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

COVID-19 cases surge at Indiana plant

Tyson temporarily closed the pork processing facility in Logansport on Saturday after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, one of about two dozen plants around the country that have shut down in recent days.

The surge in infections helped Cass County record 439 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, nearly half of Indiana's total for the day.

The company and the union representing the plant's workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700, said the closure was necessary until every worker could be tested and plant conditions are deemed safe.

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More than 4,400 meatpacking workers around the country have tested positive for the virus, and at least 18 have died from the virus as of Tuesday morning, according to USA TODAY/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting tracking.

Workers have tested positive at at least 80 plants in 26 states, and there have been 28 closures of at least a day. 

The head of the international guild representing the employees said worker safety must come first.

“The reality is that these workers are putting their lives on the line every day to keep our country fed during this deadly outbreak,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said Tuesday in a written statement. “To protect America’s food supply, America’s meatpacking workers must be protected.”

A Tyson spokeswoman said the company had not seen the executive order and could not comment. She did echo Perrone's sentiments that worker safety is and will continue to be the company's highest concern.

“We can tell you our top priority remains the safety our team members and plant communities while we work to continue fulfilling our role of feeding families across the country,” Hli Yang said in an email to IndyStar.

Production numbers at meat processing plants in sharp decline

Supply chain experts have mostly said a significant domestic meat shortage is unlikely, due to the large number of processing plants and resulting resiliency. But those assurances are being tested by steadily dropping production numbers from the nation’s meatpacking plants.

But Department of Agriculture data show at least 838,000 fewer cattle, hogs and sheep were slaughtered for meat processing over the past week compared to the same time period last year, a 28% drop. Tuesday marked the worst day yet, with total slaughter falling 39% compared to the same day last year.

The Logansport plant produces three million pounds of pork daily and had previously suspended operations for a single day, on April 20, for deep cleaning and sanitizing. 

Bu after re-opening it quickly closed again, with officials saying it would stay shuttered until all 2,200 workers were tested for the coronavirus and the company deemed the facility safe for workers.

The union and company said the closure was necessary despite efforts by both to implement safety measures, said Brigid Kelly, a spokeswoman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700, which represents Harris and other workers at the plant. She added that the workers are being paid during the closure.

“We worked very closely with Tyson and put in plastic partitions, provided facial coverings and required social distancing in the break rooms beginning in March,” Kelly said. “We had the workers on the line spread out, even though that slowed production.”

But she said that jobs are “a hard work on a good day, fast paced and physical demanding,’ with people side-by-side.

Union, workers want additional protections

Perrone, the UFCW international president, said in his statement that the union wants additional protections for workers before re-opening.

Such measures include additional protective equipment, ensuring daily testing is available for workers, enforcement of physical distancing at all plants and full paid sick leave for workers who are infected with the virus.

The union is also calling for federal inspectors to monitor conditions and access to union representation or an advocate for workers to protect their rights.

Harris, who works on the loading dock, says the crowding of workers is not as extreme there as inside on the processing line. But he said that doesn’t make him feel any safer.

“You hear someone tested positive and then they don’t show up for work, so then you think, ‘Did I work next to that person?’ or ‘Did I talk to this person’?” Harris said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I go home and wash my hands and wipe off the door knobs and my electronics. I try not to think about and I wonder how long this can go on.”

He said a tent for coronavirus testing was set up in the parking lot last week and he believes most of the employees have been tested. Some got their results in 24 to 48 hours but Harris does not have his yet.

“Everybody’s been trying to follow the CDC rules but it’s been crazy trying to adapt on the fly because things change day-to-day,”  Harris said. “I was going to work one more year until I retire but now I’m thinking I might not wait that long.”

USA Today reporter David Jackson contributed to this report.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook.